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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25137118">Cabins and Confessions</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/remythasavage/pseuds/remythasavage'>remythasavage</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Rockman X | Mega Man X</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, M/M, Summer Vacation, Unresolved Romantic Tension, no beach episode cause there is no beach, surprise character near the end, there is a water park tho, two stupid robots</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 11:07:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>24,120</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25137118</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/remythasavage/pseuds/remythasavage</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Zero is desperate to reveal his feelings to X, and enlists Axl and Alia to help him.<br/>Coincidentally, the Hunter Trio (and Alia, because we all know she needs a getaway more than anyone) are scheduled for a much-needed summer vacation. What better time to confess your love?</p><p>This is nothing but a mess of fluff, cliche summer love tropes, wacky hijinks, and wish fulfillment of what I wanted to do this summer. Enjoy...?</p><p>Written for the XZero Summer Event on Twitter!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>X/Zero (Rockman)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>65</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Summer Break(ing My Heart)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So like I said before, this is almost nothing but self indulgent bs. I was really looking forward to some fun stuff (fun to me) before...you know, everything was cancelled for all of 2020. </p><p>So forcing the characters of Mega Man X into doing summer shit they would never otherwise do is a GREAT alternative. You've probably never read something so predictable as this...but predictable might be good for right now, ya know? :'}</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zero looked around hesitantly at the structure before him. The bus had dropped them off right in front, which saved them having to walk with their luggage. But it hadn't allowed Zero a chance to really take in his surroundings properly. They were staying at this place X had called a 'cabin', Zero did a quick search of the term: cozy, wooden houses, supposedly surrounded by birds and other cutesy animals. At least it seemed like it would be quiet.</p><p>"Woah this place is HUGE!! I was thinking it was like a room out in the woods or something but look at THIS!"</p><p>...or as quiet as a place could be when Axl was around.</p><p>"I have to admit, this is fancier than I was anticipating. You did a good job, Alia!" X said, picking up his and Alia's bags to move them inside. </p><p>Alia looked back at Zero and shot him a knowing look. He was thankful no one else was watching him at that moment, he felt the heat creep into his face.</p><p>"Thanks X. I think its got a bit of a romantic vibe to it, wouldn't you say, Zero?" with no one else looking at them Alia's smile turned into a wicked smirk. Zero's entire body was suddenly calling for coolant to keep his temperature down.</p><p>"Um, I guess."</p><p>"Romantic?" X cocked his head, definitely surprised by the notion, "I guess you could make a trip like this romantic, if it were just two people. But it looks like most of the visitors here are families..."</p><p>"I bet there's plenty of stuff for couples to do, though!" Axl cut in, pouncing on Zero's shoulders. The Red Ripper frantically shrugged him off and gave him a death glare. Axl just laughed and continued to bounce around the cabin. Zero turned away so that X couldn't see his face still glowing an embarrassing shade of red.</p><p>This was going to be a disaster.</p><p>Zero regretted ever opening his mouth. THIS was why he never felt the need to ask for help. The one time he confessed to Axl that he was having trouble with his "feelings" and this was the result.<br/>
It had all started two weeks ago, when Zero had come to an earth-shaking revelation. It was both wonderful and horrible. It had terrified him, but somehow also elated him. It didn't seem to have been triggered by anything in particular, which was the most confounding part. Such a massive realization had to be preempted by <b>something</b> happening.  How could you just wake up one day and realize something like that?  It had been so confusing that Zero even went and got complete diagnostics run to make sure there was nothing wrong with him, but everything had come back clear. He still couldn't convince himself it was right. He simply realized one moment, a random moment on a random day in a random place: he was in love with his best friend. </p><p>He and X had just finished an extra sparring session with only the two of them. They were just about to leave the simulation room, both of them tired but content, it had been a good bout and now they could call it a day. The way X looked up at him and smiled, how happy he seemed, the simple sound of his voice made something in Zero turn. He realized it right then and there. He loved X. </p><p>It had taken all of the combatdroid's self control to maintain his cool and make it back to his own quarters. He had been a mess ever since.</p><p>The entirety of Maverick Hunters HQ seemed to notice his odd change in behavior. Poor X tried to figure out what was bothering him, but Zero refused to discuss it with his partner, so he turned to Axl for help. Axl was far more persistent than X, and he wouldn't rest until he got some kind of answer from Zero. And after a full week of nonstop pestering Zero admitted it just to get the younger hunter off his back. </p><p>"FINE." he beat the table they were sitting at, banging it loudly enough for the rest of the room to hear. After the wave of uncomfortable stares and disapproving comments Zero leaned in, making sure no one else would hear except for the boy in front of him, "...but if you tell anyone..."</p><p>"I won't, I won't! Geez, if it's got you this worked up it has to be something serious." Axl whispered nervously, "Heh...it's not serious, is it?"</p><p>Zero's grave expression didn't help, and he wouldn't look Axl in the eye, instead staring intensely at the table. He gulped, "So...what is it?"</p><p>"I...I'm in love with X."</p><p>When Zero got no reaction after a few moments his head shot up. Axl was grimacing, and the second Zero looked up he burst into laughter, banging the table even louder than Zero had.</p><p>"Is that all?!"</p><p>"What do you mean 'is that all'?! What were you expecting me to say??"</p><p>"I don't know!" Axl continued cackling loudly, despite the nasty looks around the room, "I thought there was some undercover maverick or you were gonna die again or something. But I wasn't expecting THAT."</p><p>"Die again...?" Zero groaned and let his head fall into his hands, "This isn't funny."</p><p>"Okay okay," Axl leaned back in and lowered his voice, "I guess I just didn't see that coming. I know you guys are close, but...wow, how do you know?"</p><p>Zero gave a frustrated shrug, "I just do."</p><p>"Well...then tell him?"</p><p>"I can't do that, are you stupid?"</p><p>Axl grunted, choosing to ignore the last part, "Why not?? What if he feels the same?"</p><p>"He doesn't."</p><p>"How do you know?"</p><p>"Because..." Zero's head fell back into his hands, "I know X cares for me, but not like <b>that</b>." No one would ever love him. He wasn't even sure if what he was feeling could even be reciprocated. He could still remember with painful clarity what happened the last time...so long ago now, but of course Axl didn't know about any of that. He kept that part to himself, "...and the last thing I want to do is hurt X."</p><p>"Hurt him?" Axl echoed, confused. </p><p>"Uh-I mean..he doesn't feel the same. I'm not sure how to hide this from him."</p><p>"I don't think you should hide it! I think you should tell him how you feel. But I don't know how you would tell him...in the movies it's always a big romantic moment in some special place."</p><p>"I said I'm NOT telling him."</p><p>But Axl was already too far gone in his ideas. Zero regretted ever opening his mouth.</p><p>"I know! We should ask Alia, she knows a bit of everything, I'm sure she could give you some tips."</p><p>Zero shot up from his chair, "Don't you dare."</p><p>But Axl dared, and soon Alia was roped into this situation that was all too quickly growing out of Zero's control. She and Axl convinced the red reploid that he needed to take some kind of action, as continuing the way he had been was not sustainable, especially with his line of work. Not to mention he was worrying X as well, and if the two hunters had to distance themselves, then Zero would prefer that X knew the real reason why. He was certain that there was no good outcome to this. </p><p>He insisted that if he had to come clean to X, then he wanted to do it somewhere they would never be again. He didn't want any familiar space to have tainted memories that could serve as a reminder. He said this was for X's sake, but secretly this was just as much for himself. If Alia saw through Zero's justification then she never said so, but Zero got the feeling that she knew he was trying to protect himself from the inevitable rejection. She suggested a relaxing place, where they would both be in a good mood and not stressed out by the regular business around HQ. That was when Axl got the idea for a vacation. Zero thought the entire plan was a bit much, but at this point he was depending entirely on their guidance. He had never outright confessed his feelings to anyone, even with Iris their affection had simply been an unspoken agreement between the two. Zero hardly spoke of his emotions at all, and now he was to be expected to declare all these feelings out loud? It seemed too overwhelming.<br/>
He maintained that their plan would never work, but both Alia and Axl were adamant. X would want to know. He HAD to know how Zero felt. And besides, it had been far too long since any of them had gotten a break. This was the longest period of peace that any of them could remember. Alia said that a vacation would do them all good, love confessions aside. </p><p>So now Zero was standing in a strange cabin, feeling naked with just civilian clothes on, and completely out of his element. </p><p>Zero had never been on a "summer vacation", but he already decided that they were thoroughly overrated.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>XZero summer week on Twitter! I hope someone can enjoy this addition, you guys are all great!!</p><p>https://twitter.com/XZeroWeek</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Water Park</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The group starts their vacation with a trip to the water park, but of course things don't go as planned.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It took Zero a few hours to warm up to the whole 'cabin' idea, but after the four of them had settled in that first day he decided it wasn't terrible. The location was famous for accommodating both humans and reploids, so everything wasn't completely alien to Zero. He rarely spent time outside of Maverick Hunters HQ, and the ideas of 'vacations' and 'rustic' and 'leisure' he had even less experience with (read: none). Luckily X, far more accustomed to human traditions, would be by his side, like always. He wasn't sure if he would enjoy any of this if X weren't here. </p><p>He had to remember, X was the reason he was even doing this in the first place. And every time he did remember the Red Ripper felt an awful sense of dread and gloom. He had no idea where to even start. Alia and Axl, for all their advice, were just adding to his consternation.</p><p>"It's got to be a really romantic moment, and then you spring it on him!!" Axl had said the night before.</p><p>"Axl, you watch too many movies, he's not asking X to marry him, for Asimov's sake."</p><p>"Alia, you're boring!"</p><p>"Well, I've known X and Zero longer than you've been activated, and I know X has never been one for theatrics."</p><p>"For wha-?"</p><p>"Nevermind. Zero, I would find a quiet moment, just the two of you, where you can tell him how you feel."</p><p>"That won't work, Alia, he's too chicken-shit to say it by himself....OW- Zero that hurt!!"</p><p>"Well....we ARE all going together, I'm sure Axl and I will be nearby if you need backup."</p><p>And that's as far as the meeting had gone before Axl and Zero were full-on wrestling on the floor, the young gun never letting up on calling Zero more names like "chicken" and "lover boy". Now Zero wished he would have planned a little more with Alia. He was never one to plan out anything, he always left such things to the navigators (and sometimes X).</p><p>Too late now.</p><p>Zero was ruminating to himself as he unpacked his bag, throwing everything all over his assigned bed for the weekend. He looked back over at the bed next to him, X was sitting on it, happily bouncing on the mattress,</p><p>"These seem really comfy, definitely comfier than the communal charging pods, don't you think?" he smiled up at Zero. That smile could melt all his doubts away.<br/>
Zero decided right then, no matter what happened on this 'vacation', as long as X remained happy then that would be enough for him. Seeing him outside of the struggles of battle, at ease and enjoying himself in this peaceful setting, it was always a welcome reminder of what he fought so hard for in the first place.</p><p>Zero dived onto X's bed next to him, "Comfy maybe, but durable?" he said into the quilt. X laughed as the bed rocked, </p><p>"We're not here to break things! Test your own bed!"</p><p>"It's got my stuff on it."</p><p>"That's what the dressers are for." X said, laying on his back so he could see Zero's face. He was still splayed on the bed and made no move to get up.</p><p>"I never had to use a dresser." Zero shrugged, turning his head to the side to meet X's gaze.</p><p>"I know, that's because the few clothes you have you just stuff in a basket."</p><p>"I don't wear them often enough to put them away." </p><p>X chuckled, "I know," his hand slid under Zero's ponytail and smoothed out his shirt, "you're lucky I know how to iron out all the wrinkles."</p><p>"Because there's so many people here I have to impress." </p><p>X lightly tugged his hair in response, Zero just laughed. </p><p>A comfortable quiet settled between them, nothing but the two of them, smiling back at one another. They were often alone together, but for it to be a happy moment, with no obligations, no one waiting for them, nothing to prepare for, they both knew the value of it without having to say anything. So when X began to frown Zero was a little taken aback. </p><p>"X? What's wrong?" </p><p>The blue reploid searched Zero's face, what he was looking for Zero had no idea, "I'm still worried, something's been bothering you. I just hope this trip can help...whatever it is."</p><p>Oh. Zero felt his chest tighten with guilt. </p><p>"It-it will. I'm fine, I promise." </p><p>X took some of his ponytail, twirling the golden strands between his fingers, "I don't want to pry, you know I don't, but-"</p><p>"Hey," Zero said warmly, propping himself up on his elbows, "this is one place where you're not supposed to worry about anything. If it was bad I would do something about it. So...just don't worry about me, okay?"</p><p>"If you say so. Well, if you want to talk, you know I'm here."</p><p>Zero swallowed thickly. He looked so earnest (and so cute!). This was ridiculous that Zero was lying to X, of all people. Technically what he said wasn't a lie...he WAS doing something about this. Or at least he was trying to. </p><p>Wait.</p><p>Was this a 'quiet moment' Alia was talking about before? Was this supposed to be the time? Was this 'romantic', like Axl had said? But what if he upset X? At the very start of vacation? He would ruin everything for his friend before it even began. Zero felt the reploid equivalent of his blood pressure skyrocket. He guiltily tore himself away from X's gaze, his head falling into his arms with a groan. X shot up, his hand on the Red Ripper's back,</p><p>"Zero-?! What-??"</p><p>The door to the bedroom was kicked open loudly, startling both of them off of the bed and into their habitual fighting stances. Axl laughed, </p><p>"Relax, it's just me. You guys are taking forever, we're going to a water park!" he quickly realized that both of them had jumped from the same bed, his eyes shifted between the two reploids, "Uh...did I interrupt something?"</p><p>"No." Zero responded with way more vitriol than was appropriate, and X suddenly felt like he had missed something. He shrugged it off, </p><p>"You're fine, Axl. What do we need for the water park?"</p><p>The boy shrugged, "I dunno, I've never been."</p><p>Alia leaned into the doorframe with a pamphlet, "According to the guide we just need our tickets and swimwear." she frowned, "I don't own a swimsuit..."</p><p>"Me neither." X said. "But we're in a resort town, I'm sure they sell them somewhere."</p><p>Axl scratched his messy hair, even messier now without his helmet on, "I don't get it, why do you need separate clothing to go in the water?"</p><p>"Maybe someone at the store can tell us," X suggested, "there's the store at the camp entrance, we should check that out."</p><p>The general store that served as a one-stop shop for the entire campground had plenty of swimsuits to choose from, although Axl's question even stumped the poor human cashier. Despite the odd start she got with the reploids the cashier was helpful in equipping them with everything they would need for a day at the water park. The more she described the place the more excited Axl was getting, so that by the time they were on the bus to the park he wouldn't stop talking about it.</p><p>"So who will do the triple drop of death slide with me?? I hope there's not a long wait at the whitewater rapids ride, that looks like fun. That lady told me too that there's a less crowded wave pool toward the back-"</p><p>Zero tuned the boy out, as he often did, and slid his foot back into his sandal. These made absolutely no sense, they were not conducive to walking at all, but the cashier had explained that they were more comfortable when your feet got wet. That also made no sense, but X had accepted it happily, so of course Zero did too.</p><p>"I don't think I want to do anything too wild, personally. I heard her mention the lazy river, I want to check that out." X said.</p><p>Axl deflated, "You're such an old man, X!"</p><p>"Hey!!"</p><p>"I'm going with X on this one, we're here to relax, after all." Zero came to his rescue. He physically felt the blue reploid unwind with relief next to him. Alia, sitting across the aisle, snatched the brochure from Axl's hands,</p><p>"They have separate spas here too, that sounds better than just swimming in some water."</p><p>"You guys are all boring!!" </p><p>Getting off the bus and into the park was a hassle in itself, standing in the lines just to get inside. It was summer, so of course it was hot, and at the peak of noon the sun was at its most intense. Without armor to help regulate his body temperature, Zero could now understand the appeal of jumping into the water to cool off. The first thing they encountered getting inside the park was a massive pool of unnaturally blue water. There were scores of humans and reploids just sitting in it, every now and then they all moved about in a flowing motion. </p><p>"That must be one of the wave pools," Alia said, "I guess it creates artificial waves so it's more like the beach."</p><p>"Good enough for me, it's too damn hot." Zero immediately made his way toward the pool, his only objective was to cool off by any means necessary. Alia shrugged,</p><p>"Well, if you guys don't mind I'm going to find the spa, I'll keep my comm on if you want to find me." she tapped her aural cone that was holding up a new pair of sunglasses, "have fun!"</p><p>"Zero, wait for me!" X ran after him.</p><p>Axl stood at the entrance, feeling abandoned, he finally ran to catch up with the other hunters, "Wait up!! I don't want to be by myself!"</p><p>Zero smirked, stopping to let them join him, "Since when was a top ranked Maverick Hunter afraid of doing things alone?"</p><p>"I've never done any of this before," Axl pouted, "I know I said you were being old farts, but this looks kinda fun."</p><p>It did look neat. Whenever a wave was generated it started at the back and lifted everyone up in the water, making the crowd scream with delight. On either side of the huge pool a lifeguard, one reploid and one human, sat high up on a chair equipped with varying sizes of life rings. </p><p>"I'll race you guys there!" Axl began to dash in front of them, both hunters forgot their dignity and ran, not wanting to lose. Zero quickly fell behind, tripping multiple times in his new sandals, X had taken his off and was catching up to Axl, openly laughing the entire way. </p><p>Until a lifeguard stepped in front of them, causing the two to almost crash into him as he held his arms out.</p><p>"Sorry, all guests have to have the swim test wristband to use pools deeper than two feet."</p><p>"Oh, come on!!" Axl groaned. </p><p>X, as usual, reacted a little less strongly, "Oh, sorry. Where do we get those?"</p><p>Zero caught up as the lifeguard was pointing over to a pool blocked off in several sections with dividers. People were swimming back and forth, more lifeguards watching over them. X and Zero exchanged questioning looks, Axl was already halfway to the pool, running way too fast. The lifeguard shouted at him, "No running!!"</p><p>X sighed, and turned back to the lifeguard, </p><p>"Sir, we're reploids, we can't drown." </p><p>"I understand that but it's park policy. Everyone has to pass the swimming test...human or reploid." the lifeguard responded awkwardly, aware of how ridiculous he sounded.</p><p>Zero glowered at the poor lifeguard, viewing him as the only thing standing between near overheating and that lovely cool water.</p><p>"It's alright, it's not your fault....um, Zero?"</p><p>"Yeah?"</p><p>"Can you swim?"</p><p>"No. Can you?"</p><p>"...I don't think so."</p><p>Neither reploid had ever needed to learn how to float on the water. They simply sunk down to the floor, armor and all, and got about by walking normally. Zero was a little surprised that for all the tiny human details and habits that Doctor Light had installed into X, swimming was not one of them.</p><p>"Well, how hard can it be, right?" X said, more to himself than his partner, "I mean...we've picked skills up on the fly before, we got this."</p><p>Zero just scowled as they stood in line to take the test. They were behind a group of small children, all dressed with every single swim accessory that ever existed. </p><p>"...they almost look like underwater reploids with all that gear." X muttered so only Zero could hear. He couldn't hold back a grin,</p><p>"I was just thinking the same thing. Remind me of those little bastards Toxic Seahorse sent after me, nimble little things."</p><p>"I remember! And then there were those tiny sludge critters that got stuck in your hair." X laughed. Zero just rolled his eyes at the memory. Subconsciously he reached back for his ponytail, which was knotted up so it only reached his waist. He could almost feel them still tugging on the strands, and the terrible sewage smell.</p><p>"I couldn't get the stink out for weeks. You were the only one who would even get close to me." the Red Ripper turned to him, still chuckling, but he stopped when he noticed the sad smile on X's face. </p><p>"That was so long ago, wasn't it? But sometimes it feels like..."</p><p>Zero threw his arm around the Blue Bomber and pulled him to his side. If anyone knew how to redirect X's attention, it was him. He understood when the memories drifted into unpleasant territory. Unfortunately he and X shared a lot of both.</p><p>X leaned into him and the light in his smile returned.  Zero felt almost giddy, and an odd warmth spreading through his body, all from just seeing his friend cheer up. </p><p>After this trip...could it still be like that? What if he scared X away? What if he turned this entire time into yet another bad memory...one that X certainly didn't deserve. </p><p>Zero's angsting was interrupted when Axl came running at them from the other side of the pool, waving his arm and flashing a red wristband.</p><p>"No running in the pool area!" someone shouted at him. He skidded to a stop right in front of X and Zero, almost knocking some of the children over.</p><p>"Woah!! Sorry, sorry...." all the kids pushed past him to move to the front of the line, </p><p>"Hey, you guys are next! It's super easy, it took me a minute and then they give you this." he showed off the paper band, "Then we can do anything we want!" </p><p>"You know how to swim, Axl?" X asked, "Did...did someone teach you?"</p><p>The young hunter looked confused, "Um, no. I was programmed with it. Isn't everyone?"</p><p>His partners' dull expressions were answer enough. Axl laughed way too loudly, "You mean you old gens don't already know how to swim?! Hahaha!!"</p><p>Zero swatted him away as the lifeguard called them up. Still laughing, he agreed to meet them back at the wave pool when they were done....IF they passed. </p><p>"I'm assigning him extra patrol duty when we get back." Zero grumbled. He turned to the testing area and watched the children jump into the pool. They all flopped their arms and legs about in the water, somehow propelling themselves to the end point and staying above the water. It seemed confusing to Zero, the physics didn't seem to add up. How did just flapping your limbs keep you afloat, with seemingly no propulsion systems or any kind of assistance? </p><p>"Okay. Uh- you two, lanes five and six." </p><p>X quickly looked back at the red reploid, looking as confused as Zero felt, "Good luck, I guess?"</p><p>Zero jumped into the water, comfortably standing at three feet deep. This water didn't really feel as refreshing as he had imagined...it felt oddly warm. He wanted out already. He turned back and looked up at the lifeguard: the gatekeeper to enjoying the waterpark. Zero felt himself scowling and he knew it wasn't helping anything.</p><p>"Uh...you can go ahead." the lifeguard said, clearly not too invested in her job. She was already pulling the red paper to make into a bracelet for when he finished. Zero's scowl deepened. </p><p>He flipped back around, eyeing the finish line marked by a sun-stained buoy. He was Zero, one of the highest ranking maverick hunters to ever live. He had cheated death, saved the entire world, instilled fear into his enemies with just the sound of his name, he could pass a basic swim test. </p><p>The children had made it look pretty straightforward...move your arms and legs and keep your head above water. </p><p>He heard splashing in the lane next to him, X, but he was too focused on himself to worry about his partner. He leaned forward and steadied himself, ready for takeoff. Now his legs had to leave the ground in order to move forward, he kicked off and let his legs and arms go horizontal, reaching as far as he could in front of him. Then he moved all his limbs up and down, just like the kids. </p><p>Water splashed all around him, but despite the splashing he was instantly underwater. No matter how hard he flapped his arms he wasn't moving at all. His chest hit the floor of the pool, his legs still kicking in the water. </p><p>He sat there on the bottom for a moment, letting the water muffle his curses. When he surfaced the lifeguard was staring at him, either horrified or ready to burst into laughter, she was covering her face so it was hard to tell.</p><p>"Well I didn't drown, do I pass?"</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
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</div>"Do you think Axl is still waiting for-phffftp!!" X's question was cut off by the water pouring over his head, timing every thirty seconds to spray from the little mushroom statue. It had a creepy little face on it, like most of the things did in this kiddie pool.<p>Zero brought his knees up to his chest, so the water only covered his feet and his butt. The deepest the kiddie pool got was a few inches. Luckily there were plenty of fountains and a little playground with its own spouts and water guns. It was far too small for the two hunters though, so they made do with sitting under the mushroom fountain and getting a cold shower every thirty seconds. </p><p>"I'm sure he forgot all about us the second he turned his back."</p><p>"Heh, probably."</p><p>After the water finished pouring over their heads X continued, "Hey, at least we can go on the slides, right? We don't have to stay stuck here."</p><p>"The guard told me that it's only certain water slides, some of them check for bracelets." Zero said, ignoring the obvious stares from all the parents that passed by them.</p><p>"I'm game for slides, since we can't even do the lazy river..." </p><p>"Are you that disappointed?" Zero turned to the blue reploid, sprawled out in the water and making little splashes with his feet. </p><p>Cute.</p><p>"No, of course not. This is still relaxing!" he turned to smile at Zero, "I'm having fun just sitting here with you."</p><p>Too cute.</p><p>Zero opened his mouth to say something, but he was cut off by the fountain pouring over their heads again. Zero spit out the chemical-filled water from his mouth. Perhaps that was meant to be. This wasn't "quiet" or "romantic" by any definition. How was he supposed to keep X's attention in a place like this?</p><p>A piercing scream caused both reploids to shoot up from their sitting position. They narrowly missed hitting their heads on the mushroom top, their senses already kicked back into high gear.<br/>
It had come from the wave pool nearby, the second one toward the back of the park. On instinct they both rushed to the source of the scream. </p><p>"Help!! Help please!!" a little boy shrieked, he was standing at the start of the wave pool where it was deepest. He looked up desperately at X and Zero who got there before any civilian could possibly react in time. It was a human boy, no older than five or six, he was too distraught to say anything else, only pointing to the water next to him.</p><p>X and Zero both looked in and saw a dark mass on the bottom of the pool. Zero could sense X preparing to jump in, he grabbed him,</p><p>"It's too deep."</p><p>X instantly knew what he meant, despite the brevity, "Lift them up as high as you can, I'll pull them out."</p><p>Zero wasted no time in jumping in and letting himself sink to the bottom. This water was much deeper than the last pool, Zero's sensors measuring it at eight feet deep. The surface was far above his head and he had no way to propel himself up without his armor. He suddenly heard a deep 'boom', and he looked to the wall where the sound had echoed from the grates, the wave machine was starting back up. He had to act fast.</p><p>The combatdroid easily scooped up the victim, it was a human boy, his eyes were open and glassed over and bubbles were coming out of his nose. Probably not good, Zero realized. He hoisted the body as high over his head as he could, but they were nowhere near the surface. He saw X jump into the water above him, he had one arm down into the water, but it still wasn't enough. </p><p>"Shit..." He had to get them up there, his processor scrambled for an idea. </p><p>If he kicked his legs maybe he could move up a bit, just like the swimming he saw earlier. It seemed to make sense. He would be moving his legs to create the propulsion instead of his jets. </p><p>Zero jumped off the ground and kicked his feet as hard as he could, feeling the water churn up underneath him, he just needed to lift the boy a little bit, Zero kicked harder, straining his arms to stretch past his limit.</p><p>He felt the weight of the body lift off of him as X grabbed them around the waist. With his hand anchored on the edge of the pool he was able to keep them both above water. Zero watched above him as more hands desperately grabbed the boy out of the pool, he heard commotion, and X talking. </p><p>The wave machine rumbled to life and the waves began to push his body up and over toward the shallower area. He saw X fall into the water, also naturally sinking to the floor, but he landed on his feet, he looked relieved. He said something but the water garbled it too much for Zero to understand.<br/>
A large wave knocked X off balance and shot him forward, without missing a beat Zero caught him before the water carried him away. X just smiled, and Zero knew his expressions well enough to know he was thanking him.</p><p>They let the waves carry them until they could stand in the water, finally walking out and being careful not to let themselves be knocked over. The pool was mostly empty now, everyone's attention had gathered to the scene at the other side. Two medics had the boy on a stretcher, he was awake and coughing. Zero didn't know much about humans but he did know that it's generally a good thing when they're breathing. He realized X had been trying to tell him that the boy was alright. Zero turned to his partner and they did their ritual arm bump in victory, only it felt odd with just their bare arms. It made X laugh as he realized the same thing.</p><p>"<i>X? Zero?? Are you guys by that commotion over there?</i>" it was Alia over the comm.</p><p>"<i>Hi Alia...yeah we are, how'd you guess?</i>" X replied, a bit sheepish.</p><p>"<i>Is everything okay? I see medical personnel.</i>"</p><p>"<i>He's fine! We rescued him from the wave pool.</i>"</p><p>"<i>Ah, but Axl told me you two couldn't go in the pools?</i>"</p><p>"<i>Heehee....</i>"</p><p>"<i>Axl.</i>"</p><p>Alia's sigh carried over their comm, "<i>Of course you guys manage to save the day even when you're not on the job.</i>"</p><p>"<i>Yeah, no thanks or gratitude in order for saving a life, huh Alia?</i>" Zero finally cut in, in his usual sarcastic fashion. X lightly smacked his arm and tried to conceal his laughter. </p><p>"<i>Oh hush, Zero. You want to meet us over here? It's a little chaotic where you are right now.</i>"</p><p>The four reunited by the back of the park where things were a bit quieter, but not before a manager had earnestly thanked X and Zero and rewarded all of them with complimentary red bracelets for the rest of the day, along with fast passes to skip every line. They stayed until the park closed, going on every waterslide (and the lazy river route of course) at least twice.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Can they swim normally...? I might have diverged from canon a bit there oopsie.<br/>Oh well.<br/>Waterslides, bby.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Burnin' Love and Burnin' Marshmallows</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>X and Zero get a visitor.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"So??"</p><p>"So...?"</p><p>"Did you say anything to X yet?"</p><p>Zero and Alia were talking in hushed voices in the cabin's kitchen, Alia leaning against the sink and Zero feeling increasingly cornered between her and the pantry. X and Axl had gone outside to set up the table, because apparently part of the "experience" was eating outdoors. Zero didn't bother to question why. </p><p>"It's only the first day, I still have two days." </p><p>"More like a day and a half since we leave in the afternoon." Alia said warily.</p><p>"...dammit."</p><p>"Zero," the navigator clapped a hand on his shoulder, even without her gloves on she had a heavy hand, "you know...I truly believe that X loves you too."</p><p>At the word 'loves' Zero averted his eyes to the floor.</p><p>"I've known you both for...well, for a long time. I'm going to tell you to trust your instincts on this one." her voice softened, "And this is X we're talking about, even if he doesn't reciprocate your feelings, he won't stop being your friend."</p><p>"I hope so." he said softly.</p><p>But then what would a "friend" be? Part of Zero, the dominating side of him, the conqueror, the warrior, wouldn't be satisfied with just "friends". He wanted X all to himself. But the logical side of him, the more humane part, knew that was not how relationships worked. Ultimately he wanted X to be happy, and whatever role that meant for Zero he would play it. It made the combatdroid want to laugh, as it was mostly due to X that he had learned to think in such a way. He was grateful to him now more than ever for that, especially considering the circumstances....</p><p>He stared up at the ceiling, "I know what I need to say, but actually forming the words is the worst part."</p><p>Alia patted his shoulder, laughing lightly, "You? Not having something to say? I can't even imagine."</p><p>Zero grinned, "Well, it's different when I'm trash-talking mavericks."</p><p>They were interrupted by a light knock on the door. </p><p>"I'll get it!" Axl had come inside at the same time, and bounded for the door before either of them could react. They couldn't see from the kitchen, but they could see Axl's confusion as he spoke to whatever was on the other side. He suddenly straightened, glanced at Zero, and turned back,</p><p>"You mean a guy with long blonde hair? Yeah he's here. ZERO."</p><p>"You don't have to shout, I'm right here." he joined Axl at the door and was ready to smack him upside the head, but he halted when he saw who was in front of them.</p><p>It was the little boy from earlier, his entire face lit up the moment he saw Zero.</p><p>"You!! It IS you! You saved my brother!!"</p><p>The boy launched himself at Zero, grabbing him around the waist, as high as he could reach on the reploid. Zero's combat systems all screamed that he was being attacked, but he knew better, it was just a hug. But it was a child hugging him. Zero froze.</p><p>"Axl, where did you go? I needed...oh." X had come in and recognized the boy in the doorway, "Hello again. How is your friend?"</p><p>He didn't let go from Zero's waist, he just shifted so he could see X, </p><p>"He's my brother and he gets sick sometimes, my mom says he can't move on his own and it gets bad if he doesn't take his medicine and he was helping me pack for this trip and he said he forgot the medicine and then I went to tell mommy but he said not to tell her and I asked him why and he...."</p><p>The little boy blissfully rambled on. X just smiled and nodded, stealing glances at a helpless Zero. Axl was choking back laughter. The sight of the mighty Maverick Hunter Zero, paralyzed by a tiny human. They all made sure to store this moment away in their memory banks, probably never to be deleted. </p><p>"Yeah...don't mention it." Zero finally said, his voice sounding a bit stilted. </p><p>The boy finally released Zero and then attached himself to X. He reacted far more naturally, as was the usual with X. He hugged him back and ruffled his hair, happily listening to him babble on about more nonsense. </p><p>"I guess the kid is at the same campsite as us." Axl said, "Maybe he saw you come in earlier....doesn't he have like, parents, or something?"</p><p>"We're glad your brother is alright," Alia said, her motherly tone sounding stronger than ever, "but you should probably go back so you don't worry your family. You've all had a long day."</p><p>"Oh! My mommy sent me here." still clinging to X's middle he began to jump up and down, "She says you can come for dinner, she wants to say thank you!"</p><p>They all exchanged glances. Zero shook his head.</p><p>"Pleaaase? We have s'mores! Mommy said I get to make the s'mores tonight." </p><p>"Shoot, I won't pass up free food."</p><p>"Axl!" Alia and X both exclaimed. The child looked up at X, never letting go of him, his eyes full of earnesty, </p><p>"So yes?"</p><p>X was never one to disappoint, especially a child. He crumbled, "....We'd be happy to."</p><p>"HOORAY" and just like that the little boy practically leaped off of X and back outside, he ran across the little gravel road to his cabin, jumping up and down the entire time.</p><p>"I guess that solves dinner." Alia shrugged, "I'll bring the stuff inside."</p><p>"He might not let us come back here." X rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, "But that's nice of the family..." he looked to Zero, "are you fine with this, Zero?"</p><p>Zero shrugged. He wasn't too sure about being practically worshiped by an overeager kid, but then again he had experience with that already.... </p><p>"Axl. You can deal with the kid though."</p><p>"Do I have to help him make...what did he say? Sores?"</p><p>"Yeah, I don't know what he was talking about there." X said.</p><p>"I don't know what he was talking about at all." Zero sighed. Truthfully he wasn't too concerned. X was great with humans (he was great with anyone), and Alia knew how to hold conversations as well. He wouldn't need to do much. </p><p>They all walked across the little road to the cabin, which looked the same except it was slightly bigger. Theirs was a two bedroom, Zero guessed this one was three bedrooms. He braced himself for their little friend to greet them again, but instead a woman emerged from the doorway. She waited patiently for them to approach, and although she seemed very emotional at the sight of them she still hesitated.</p><p>"It IS you! I sent Ben over because I was a little broken up, still. Can I give you a hug? I always ask, I know some people don't like hugs, although I'm sure my youngest didn't remember that. I just wanted to thank you properly for saving my son, you...you saved his life, after all." she began to sniff and her voice wavered.</p><p>"We're just glad he's alright. These two actually do that type of thing for a living, so it's nothing they're not trained for." Alia explained. </p><p>"Well, still. My husband is staying at the hospital with him overnight, so it's just me and Ben. I saw this young man...er-reploid, sorry - with his long hair going into the cabin over there, I knew it had to be you and your friend."</p><p>"Yeah, you can spot Zero here from a mile away." Axl said. Zero had a retort but he quickly remembered they had company. He just looked away from the smiling woman.</p><p>"I always tell my boys, there's nothing wrong with being unique! Now the least I can do for you is treat you to a meal."</p><p>She showed them to the back where the fire pit and picnic table was, just like their own cabin. She insisted on finishing the food herself when X and Alia offered to help, telling them all to relax and get the fire started, with Ben's help, of course. </p><p>He was so engrossed in his own stories (none of which made sense to any of them) that he didn't seem to notice the fact they were talking amongst themselves, as long as X or Zero added a 'yes' or 'neat' every couple of sentences to make him think they were listening.</p><p>"So we got this lighter fluid, is there a lighter or something?" X asked, looking around.</p><p>"I can go ask her." Alia said.</p><p>Lighter fluid? Shouldn't be an issue. Zero whipped out his Z-saber from his pants pocket.</p><p>"You brought your saber over here?!" Alia exclaimed. Behind her X dropped the lighter fluid bottle, "Zero, you can't DO that!!"</p><p>But he was already over the fire pit. He brought the saber down over the pile, activating it with one swing. The plasma beam was enough to have the flames jumping high above their heads.</p><p>"Problem solved." the red reploid shrugged. Alia just shook her head,</p><p>"We can't take you anywhere..."</p><p>Little Ben was over the moon, if he wasn't enamored with Zero before he definitely was now.</p><p>"That was SO COOL!!!" he began to jump around Zero, his hands up, "Can I see it?! Please can I see it?!"</p><p>"Look what you've done now, his mom's gonna freak out when she hears this. What if we don't get any food?" Axl snatched the saber from Zero's hand and hid it behind his back so Ben didn't notice.</p><p>"Ben, Zero only uses that for uh...certain reasons. It's not a toy." X explained, trying to pull him away from the red reploid. Zero recognized the face X was making at him, it was one he had seen countless times: his 'was that really necessary?' face. Zero just smirked and tried to walk away, he grabbed his saber back from Axl and stuffed it safely in his pocket again.</p><p>"Geez, Zero." Axl tried to sound but disapproving but he was clearly laughing at the whole thing. </p><p>"Always better to be prepared."</p><p>"Not THAT kind of prepared...at least not in front of a little kid!" </p><p>X was kneeling so he was level with Ben, his hands on his shoulders to keep him from bouncing, "Now Ben, that's a special tool Zero has, it's VERY special, but it's a big secret, okay? Can you keep what you saw just between us? Can you promise me that?"</p><p>Of course he agreed, eager to please his new heroes. X smiled, "Good job!"</p><p>Crisis averted, it seemed. </p><p>It was easy enough to distract the little boy until his mother finally opened the sliding door,</p><p>"Sorry to keep you all waiting, I had to make some more to feed everyone. It's ready!"</p><p>There were enough hamburgers prepared to feed an army. She had to explain to the reploids what some of the food was, as they had never seen much of 'party food', as she called it. </p><p>"This is potato salad, it's something everyone eats on picnics...and this is called taco dip, you can make it spicy but I don't when I make it for the kids...is there anything you can't eat? I've never cooked for reploids before."</p><p>"I don't think we're restricted from any types of foods." X explained, "But we actually don't need to eat to survive..."</p><p>"What about s'mores?!" Ben demanded.</p><p>"Oh! I promised him he could help make those tonight if he behaved. I hope you'll stay for s'mores too."</p><p>"I hope it's more food." Axl said. </p><p>The woman laughed, "You look like a teenager and you certainly eat like one. We can show you how s'mores are made."</p><p>Zero slowly worked on a hamburger, quietly sitting between X and Alia. Luckily Ben's mother had made him sit next to her on the picnic table, which was a welcome relief for his personal space. Zero had a newfound respect for parents after all this.<br/>
He was enjoying just listening to the casual conversation, it was different talking to someone who wasn't involved with the Maverick Hunters. They were from Abel City, but the woman didn't say where exactly they lived. All four of them intentionally avoided mentioning anything about the Maverick Hunters as a topic, none of them keen to bring up work right now anyway. When the woman asked what exactly they did for a living, they all simply said they were 'emergency workers'. Axl almost gave them away, but a subtle kick from Zero shut him up (it may had been subtle but it hadn't been gentle).</p><p>They all helped to clean up from dinner, and by then it was completely dark. The fire pit provided the only light, which luckily was still burning strong. The woman came out after and seemed confused,</p><p>"Now how did you light the fire, I had left the matches inside...?"</p><p>"I, um, have a lighter." X said quickly.</p><p>"Oh! Good then...do you smoke cigarettes if you're carrying a lighter? I didn't know reploids smoked either. The more you know I guess!"</p><p>"Yeah, I smoke sometimes...." X trailed off.</p><p>Zero sat next to him on one of the log benches set up around the pit, </p><p>"You're such a bad liar." he muttered so only his partner could hear. </p><p>"At least our host doesn't know that you have a deadly weapon on you, you can thank me for that one."</p><p>"...yeah, you're right."</p><p>"I know I am." </p><p>Zero gave him a playful shove in response. </p><p>They all sat around the fire for a bit, sometimes talking and sometimes doing nothing. Even Ben had finally begun to quiet down. He had re-attached himself to Zero, so there wasn't really a chance for just him and X to talk. Luckily X could tell when the combatdroid was starting to lose patience with the little boy clinging to his waist or climbing on his lap. He would save Zero and ask Ben to sit by him for a bit. </p><p>It was one of the times when Ben was on X's side of the bench when Zero noticed he was smiling at the sky. Zero finally looked up too. </p><p>"You can never see this many stars in the city." he said quietly, "It's been a while since I could enjoy nighttime like this."</p><p>Zero's gaze fell to X's face as he spoke. He looked so happy, with the light of the fire reflecting off of his eyes, they appeared to be glowing. He looked younger without his helmet now, his mop of brown hair lightly touched by the night breeze. Even after all this time, X was so easy to please. The thought made Zero smile. Granted, Zero enjoyed the stars as well, but he definitely preferred his current view. </p><p>"...I have to go potty." Ben muttered into X's lap. He looked back down, broken from his reverie. A little reluctantly, Zero noticed, he knew X wouldn't blame Ben for it though.</p><p>His mother stood up, Alia was seated next to her and moved her legs so she had room to walk, </p><p>"I'll take him, X. Sorry about that."</p><p>"No it's okay! I understand."</p><p>"Actually, could one of you come with me to get the stuff for s'mores? I'll let Ben show you how to make them before he goes to bed."</p><p>"Awwwww, Mommy!" Ben groaned.</p><p>"Ben. What did Daddy say about whining?" </p><p>Ben straightened, and fixed his face immediately. Whatever his father had said must have been awfully convincing, judging by that reaction. He tugged on X's hand as if nothing had happened, "Come on!" </p><p>"Sure, I'll help." and X left with them inside. </p><p>Zero immediately felt both pairs of eyes on him, burning hotter than the fire pit in between them. He tried to maintain the silence but it quickly failed.</p><p>"...You know she asked me if you two are a couple." Alia said slyly.</p><p>That got Zero's attention, he jumped up from his seat so fast that it startled Axl next to him, "She what?!"</p><p>"I mean, I can see why." Axl commented, "I can't believe I didn't notice it before, but you're soooo obvious."</p><p>"When he doesn't have a mission he does tend to lose his focus pretty quickly." </p><p>"Alia!!" </p><p>"It's just my observation." she put her hands up as if to declare her innocence, "You were staring at X for a good couple of minutes at one point."</p><p>Zero sat back down, defeated, and let his head fall into his hands for what seemed like the umpteenth time in the past few weeks. </p><p>The sound of the sliding door in his audio receptors made him sit back up, his face cleared of any of the angst from a moment ago. Luckily it was only Ben running back outside, he shoved a large bag of marshmallows into Zero's face. Zero could smell the sugar on them.</p><p>"Let's make s'mores!! I can make them all by myself I can show you!" </p><p>"Now just wait a second, Ben. I said wait until I got everything." his mother called as she and X emerged from the door. Suddenly looking at X made him feel guilty, he tried to focus on keeping Ben from falling into the fire pit, as excited as he was.</p><p>The moment his mother sat down, Ben had grabbed some long wooden skewers and began smashing marshmallows down on them. He handed one to Zero, </p><p>"Here! I made this one for you. You roast it over the fire, it's soooo good!"</p><p>"Then what?" Axl asked as he took his.</p><p>"Then you sandwich them between these graham crackers with some chocolate, the heat makes the chocolate all melty. It's the perfect campfire food!" the woman answered happily. </p><p>It took them all a few tries to get a properly roasted marshmallow. X and Alia soon had decent s'mores. Axl got impatient waiting for his to cook and just scorched them. Zero couldn't figure out how to stop setting his on fire.</p><p>Ben laughed at him every time his marshmallow went up in flames, "Not like THAT. It won't taste right! You just taste the burnt parts." he seemed to be enjoying the fact that he was showing up the reploid. He was honestly too full from dinner to even care about the stupid dessert. </p><p>"I can show you, Zero." X sounded amused, "You're thinking of it too much like your sab- um...I mean...." X just awkwardly cleared his throat, acutely aware that Ben was watching and listening. He scooted closer to Zero so their knees were touching (why did that suddenly matter to him?) and reached for his hand on the skewer,</p><p>"Try holding it a little further away and rotate it like this." his shoulder was bumped up against Zero's as he took his hand, lightly wrapping his fingers around the red reploid's. 
Zero felt like he was about to short circuit. He guided his hand about, moving the marshmallow so it was evenly cooked. Zero was watching their hands more than he was watching the marshmallow.</p><p>All of a sudden X seemed to realize what he was doing, and jumped, snapping his hand away almost like he was in pain,</p><p>"Oh! Sorry!" </p><p>"For what?"</p><p>He felt X's body stiffen next to his, and his hand flailed, "Um...m-my hand is sticky, I shouldn't have grabbed yours like that..." </p><p>"I don't care." he looked down at his friend to reassure him. He made sure to keep his expression neutral, but it almost broke when he saw that X's face was red.</p><p>Was he <i>blushing</i>? </p><p>Or maybe he was too close to the fire or something. Zero internally kicked himself for such dumb ideas.</p><p>But sure enough this marshmallow was just blackened on the bottom and brown on the side. He brought it up to X's face, "Yeah, but it worked. Thanks buddy."</p><p>X squished the chocolate and grahams around it, "Wait till you try it and then thank me. I know you don't really like sweets, but..."</p><p>"No, it really is good."</p><p>Ben shoved another one into Zero's open hand, the other one still had his half-eaten s'more, "Try mine!!"</p><p>It basically tasted the exact same, but Zero played along anyway. Ben was elated at his reaction, </p><p>"Do you want another one then?! I'll make you one!"</p><p>Alia started laughing on the other side of the fire pit, and his mother sighed, "Ben, he literally has his hands full of s'mores, leave them alone, honey."</p><p>Luckily X seemed to sense Zero's dilemma with being forced to eat more sweets, and he stood up,</p><p>"It's late too, we should probably get back."</p><p>"Awwww!"</p><p>"Ben!"</p><p>This time his mother's warning wasn't enough to keep the boy from clinging on to both reploids. Zero could feel his sticky hands on the back of his jacket, and when he hugged him the chocolate and crumbs from his face got on his shirt. </p><p>"Can we do this again tomorrow?"</p><p>"Tomorrow?" Zero repeated, almost choking on the word.</p><p>"Ben, honey, they have their own vacation, remember? You have to let them enjoy their time too."</p><p>The boy finally relented, and they said their goodbyes. His mother had to make him stay behind in the cabin to keep him from talking over everyone.</p><p>'Thank you all for coming over tonight...and for putting up with my Ben." she said sheepishly, "But you boys certainly are his new heroes...I wouldn't be surprised if he talks about you the rest of our trip."</p><p>"We appreciate the meal, it was all great." X responded politely, but he definitely sounded tired.</p><p>"It's the least I could do."</p><p>"Let us know how your other son is doing." Alia added, "I hope he gets to enjoy some of his vacation."</p><p>"Just warn us if you send Ben over." Zero said. Everyone, including his mother laughed...which was fine, but Zero secretly hoped that she knew he was serious. </p><p>Zero was ready to turn in for the night already, despite his internal clock telling him it was only 9:30PM, still rather early for the red hunter. He flopped onto the couch in front of the fireplace, sinking into the cushions and letting his head fall back. </p><p>"Yeah, exactly." Axl fell down next to Zero, he moved around so he could lay on the couch, resting his feet in Zero's lap. At this point Zero was too tired to care about his personal space being invaded anymore. </p><p>"I think you guys all did a great job with that kid. He was a handful, that's for sure." Alia sighed, "I really don't understand the appeal of having children..."</p><p>"But I'm glad we went. He seems like a nice boy, at least." X hung his body over the couch since there was no room left on it. He looked utterly exhausted. He was far more socially adept than Zero, but even he had hit his point of saturation today. Zero could still see the smile on his lips and the light in his eyes though, he was tired, but he was happy.</p><p>"It WAS cute, he really thinks you guys are the best thing ever. He wouldn't leave either of you alone for a minute."</p><p>"We ARE the best." Axl chimed in, lifting a fist into the air.</p><p>"You were too busy leaving us at the kiddie pool today!" X teased, "Or you might have had some glory too."</p><p>"Nah, I'm fine with that. That kid was way too clingy, I wouldn't have been able to stand it."</p><p>"Speaking of that, you did really well, Zero." X said, shifting over on the couch.</p><p>"I mean, except for using your z-saber to light the fire...but I know that was a lot for you to deal with."</p><p>X's face was so close to his again. Zero still had his eyes closed but he was definitely aware of it, every sensor coming alive at the blue reploid's presence. He didn't understand how he could overreact to X being close to him, while Axl's feet and legs were all over him and it didn't seem at all unusual. </p><p>He felt pathetic.</p><p>X moved and Zero sensed that he was no longer close. He opened his eyes and saw him walking toward the back door,</p><p>"I'm just going outside for a bit, I feel like I need to decompress after all that."</p><p>"Sounds good. Honestly, I'll probably go to bed, if you guys don't mind." Alia said.</p><p>"I'm tired too, I'm just...gonna chill here for a bit." Axl stretched out on the couch. Not wanting to become a foot rest, Zero stood up and wordlessly followed X.</p><p>They both sat outside for a long time, sitting on the outdoor bench on the patio. They didn't talk much, they were both too tired to have any more conversation, but that was fine. The night sky was more than enough to keep their attention. </p><p>Zero knew that this was yet another of those "quiet moments" he should have been keeping an eye out for, but he was just too tired. It had been such a good day, despite all the craziness. He preferred to end it like this, with X at his side, just enjoying each other's company and the rare peaceful night.</p><p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p><p>"Ooh Alia, you think he's gonna say anything out there?"</p><p>Alia just sighed, "Highly doubt it. He won't say anything this weekend. If he does...I'd be shocked."<br/>
Axl sat up from the couch to see if she was serious, when he saw that she was he became confused,</p><p>"What? But he knows this is his opportunity! Of course he's gonna take it. Zero never hesitates with anything."</p><p>Alia turned to wash her hands of the marshmallow residue, "No way, kiddo. This is something completely different. Like I said, I've known those two almost longer than anyone, they've been like this for a long time."</p><p>"Like how long?"</p><p>"Ugh, way too long." she sat on the armchair and shook her head, "It's obvious they both love each other, they just don't see it. I can't understand how they're both so blind! Although...when you've been close to someone for so long, it can be hard to make sense of all those emotions, especially when you've been through a lot together."</p><p>Axl thought he saw a trace of sadness in the navigator's face, but he hadn't been looking closely. Her voice was distant, like she was talking more to herself. For once Axl didn't know what to say.</p><p>Luckily Alia seemed to switch back to her old self in a moment, "Anyway, especially with those two, I really wouldn't count on it."</p><p>"Aw, come on, Alia! You're just not believing in the power of love!"</p><p>"What does that even mean?" </p><p>Axl kicked his feet up in a gesture of defeat, "I don't know, it just sounds cool!"</p><p>"I would bet my entire salary that Zero won't say anything."</p><p>"Oh? A bet?" Axl sat straight up. "Bet money?"</p><p>"Seriously? You're that confident?" Alia eyed the young hunter incredulously.</p><p>"Well, not my whole salary, but I'll bet something!"</p><p>"Deal! Then we'll bet if Zero tells X before we get back to base, you win. But no confession, I win. And I WILL follow up for the money." Alia stood up so they could shake on it.</p><p>"Bet!!" </p><p>Then Alia had to go back and wash her hands again, Axl's fingers were still covered in sticky marshmallow fluff.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sorry I missed uploading yesterday. I feel like this chapter was a bit boring, but I really wanted to write about food...</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. In the Night</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Axl was awoken by murmuring nearby. When in a recharger he normally slept deeply, all of his functions going offline to charge with maximum efficiency. But it was different when recharging in a bed, systems would simply go into standby. It was slower, but more comfortable to 'sleep' in a regular bed. </p><p>He was conscious enough to remember he was in the cabin, the voices could only belong to X and Zero. He was about to fall back asleep when he heard the murmurs again. He simply stayed where he was, only keeping his audio systems active. He registered the sound of crickets chirping outside.</p><p>"...Do you think he heard me?"</p><p>"No, he's still asleep, don't worry."</p><p>Rustling of the mattress, one of them was standing up. Then more rustling slightly further away, they sat down on the other bed. </p><p>"...Come here."</p><p>Zero's voice, muffled: "It's been a long time."</p><p>X's voice, clearer: "I know."</p><p>"I don't know why I would get them at a time like this."</p><p>"...Nightmares never follow any kind of logic."</p><p>Silence. The crickets' droning came and went in waves. </p><p>More rustling, the sound of someone standing up, </p><p>"Zero...? Where are you going?"</p><p>"I won't be able to sleep anymore, I'll just go for a walk or something."</p><p>"...come sleep with me? We can fit on one bed."</p><p>Another silence.</p><p>"Axl will make fun of us in the morning."</p><p>A soft chuckle, "No he won't. You know he understands."</p><p>"You don't mind?"</p><p>"Of course not. Have I ever minded?"</p><p>"Heh...no." </p><p>The sound of footsteps, and then covers being shifted around and the creak of the bedframe. </p><p>"Tomorrow will be a good day, Zero. I'll..." his voice fell to a whisper, Axl couldn't pick the rest up on his receptor. </p><p>Zero also whispered something, and then it was quiet again. Axl was suddenly aware that he had been tensing his shoulders the entire time, he forced his body to relax again. Now he was too comfy to stay awake, and he quickly drifted back to sleep.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Fun fact: I wrote this part between naps. That's a good day when you can get multiple naps in.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. All is Fair in Love and....Fairgrounds</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>X gets a little j e a l o u s...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zero was surprised when he woke up not feeling  X next to him. Normally any of his movement would have set off Zero's sensors, unless he had been sleeping too deeply. He hadn't recharged so well in weeks. It was probably due to X, as he personally didn't find these mattresses to be all that comfy. He rose to get dressed in another set of clothes that he had thrown on the floor yesterday and went to the kitchen.</p><p>"Good morning." X said pleasantly, sitting at the table with an e-tank and a data pad with the day's news. Sunlight poured in through the eastern windows, making the cabin look bright and homey. Zero grabbed his own can and sat down with X.</p><p>Before he could respond Axl burst from the bedroom,

</p><p> "Hey!"</p><p>"Did you have to slam the door like that?" Zero grumbled.</p><p>"You were the one stomping around the room a minute ago, no one could sleep through that!"</p><p>X chuckled and Zero just sipped his e-tank.</p><p>"Is Alia up yet?"</p><p>"Nope."</p><p>"Should we wake her up?" Axl asked, grabbing his own e-tank, "What are we doing today anyway?"</p><p>"I wouldn't bother her...if you value your life." Zero responded, "I'm speaking from experience."</p><p>"We talked about going to the amusement park that's across the site." X said, "I've never been to anything like it, but it sounds like there's a lot to do."</p><p>"Fine by me, as long as there's no more swim tests, eh?" </p><p>Axl ducked as Zero swung at his head. X just rolled his eyes, </p><p>"You have a point, Axl. I'm going to talk to Alia when we get back about signing us up for swim lessons. I don't even know if HQ offers them..."</p><p>'<i>When we get back'</i>. The words echoed in Zero's head. It was now day two. But that was still about 36 hours of potential! He just had to stay focused, it was plenty of time. Alia had just made him paranoid after making the whole weekend seem so short. He knew he could make it happen today. Today would be the...</p><p>"...would you take them, Zero?" he suddenly realized X was talking to him. He hoped he hadn't been zoning out for too long, or worse giving away how conflicted he was currently feeling.</p><p>"Probably not. Unless there's a tactical advantage to it."</p><p>"There could be. We've had an awful lot of water based missions in the past. Or...it could be something fun for us to do." he finished quietly. </p><p>"...maybe I would. As long as it was just us, I don't need anyone else seeing me looking so stupid. Yesterday was embarrassing."</p><p>"Oooh maybe they have couples' swim lessons!" Axl leaned over Zero's chair and spoke especially loud. </p><p>It took all of Zero's self control not to reach up and punch the young hunter in the face. </p><p>"Sheesh, you're all so loud." Alia emerged from her room, saving both of them from Axl's stupidity. X was turned to face her so Zero wasn't able to gauge his reaction from a moment ago. But perhaps that was a good thing...</p><p>"Sorry I overslept a bit, I guess I needed the recharge. Is everyone ready to go for today?"</p><p>"Yep!"</p><p>Zero finished off his e-tank and stood up, "So did I..." he muttered to no one in particular.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~</p>
</div><p>The same bus took them to the front of the theme park, where once again there were more long lines in the hot sun. Zero couldn't see the appeal of doing such a popular 'thing' if you had to wait so long just to do it. Of course Axl was impatient as well, X said he was surprised that Axl had never been to anything like this before.</p><p>"Well, back in Red Alert I never had any money to go out, and now with the Maverick Hunters I got money but I have no time. I never win." he pouted, "So I want to do everything here today!! I got to take advantage."</p><p>"I hope we can do this again, sooner rather than later." X said wistfully, "I can't remember having this kind of free time since....."</p><p>Zero put his arm around X, "Just worry about your current free time first."</p><p>Axl hugged him from his other side, "Hey, as long as I'm around I'll make sure we have some fun! I won't LET you two be boring."</p><p>X sighed deeply, like he was releasing a burden, and giggled,  "Thanks guys!"</p><p>X's laughter erased Zero's annoyance at standing in line. Since starting this 'vacation' he honestly couldn't remember seeing X laugh so often. It was probably the same for him and Alia as well, and even Axl too, to a degree. Maybe that was the appeal in all these dumb attractions and vacations that made so many humans and reploids gather to a place. It was a different kind of 'fun', although Zero wasn't quite sure how to describe it beyond that. </p><p>Once they got into the park there were even more lines for everything, much to Zero's disappointment. The food stalls all had lines, the rides, the shops, everything. </p><p>"I wonder what kind of food they sell here...?" </p><p>"Ooh, Alia look! This row is all chocolate stuff, I know that's your favorite." </p><p>While Alia and X poured over the map Axl's attention was caught by some kind of giant slingshot that launched a metal capsule into the air. There were people strapped to it as it bounced around on cables. </p><p>"I wanna do that!!" he cried, "Who's with me?!"</p><p>X and Alia both looked at him like he was crazy. He then turned to Zero, but before he could open his mouth he shook his head,</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Aww, why not? It looks fun!"</p><p>"I've been launched into the air enough to last three lifetimes, thanks." </p><p>"Axl, how does that look remotely fun?" Alia asked. </p><p>"Please, Zero?" he grabbed the combatdroid's hand, knowing he had the best chance with him. </p><p>"It kind of does seem like something you'd enjoy." X said. Zero glowered at him,</p><p>"Don't push this off on me!"</p><p>"I'm not, I'm not!" if X was capable of sweating he probably would have by then, "Well, if you really want to, Axl, we can go see how long the line is."</p><p>That was enough to keep the younger hunter off his back for the time being. They walked to the side of the park where the giant slingshot started. There was a large painted sign in front calling it "The Launch of DOOM" with "doom" in big, red letters. </p><p>Zero shook his head, how needlessly dramatic for some seats connected to some cables. </p><p>There was no line for the ride, but there was a crowd around the area who seemed to just be there to watch whoever was brave enough to step up.</p><p>Finally a human couple ran over and went up to the ride operators. They decided to stay and watch.</p><p>"No wonder there's no line...this looks crazy." X commented as the two girls were strapped in to the seats in the center. They were covered all over in belts and straps that secured them to their chairs, and the only other thing anchoring them to the cables was some metal twisted about like a ball. One girl was crying, the other was laughing hysterically. </p><p>The entire crowd went quiet as the large cables on either side began to tighten, getting ready to launch them into the air. It was extremely slow, the anticipation building as the seats went back. More anxious seconds, the excitement was palpable. </p><p>Suddenly there was a crack, and it launched impossibly fast, taking the screaming girls with it.</p><p>Zero watched as the slingshot jerked around in the air.</p><p>"You really want to do that? Why?" Zero asked.</p><p>"It looks AMAZING!"</p><p>"You're crazy." Alia shook her head, "I mean...it will just overwhelm your gyro systems, that won't be pleasant." </p><p>But Axl was already running up to the operator, he had made up his mind. But then he slumped over, and walked back.</p><p>"They said I can't do it alone, I need to find someone to come with."</p><p>"...maybe there will be someone else who comes by?" X said, although he definitely didn't sound sure.</p><p>Axl looked up at Zero, putting on his most convincing smile, "Pleaaaaaase Zero? I'll do your reports for a week!"</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Two weeks?"</p><p>"No."</p><p>He launched himself at Zero, pulling him down by the shoulder and whispering into his aural receptor, "Do it or I'll tell X your secret!" </p><p>"...Fine."</p><p>"What?!" X exclaimed, "Axl, what did you just-??"</p><p>But he was already pulling the red reploid toward the entrance. He looked back at X and Alia and just gave them one of his trademark frowns. Alia was shaking her head knowingly, poor X just looked confused - and concerned. </p><p>"Okay I found someone! Can we go next?" Axl had Zero by the arm. </p><p>The ride operator was a young civilian reploid, she looked at both of them dully, "Sure, it's 400 zennies each."</p><p>"That much just to be launched into the air?" Zero grumbled, "You better be paying, then."</p><p>"Deal!" </p><p>Axl would get all that back and more as long as he won that bet. He didn't say that to Zero though.</p><p>The two girls had come back down from the ride, but it took them both a minute to get themselves off the platform. One vomited into the trash can nearby. Zero made a noise of disgust,</p><p>"Do we HAVE to do this?"</p><p>"Yes!"</p><p>"And you're doing my paperwork for two weeks."</p><p>Axl jumped back, "What?! No, that didn't count!"</p><p>"Yes it did."</p><p>"What if I refuse?" </p><p>Zero turned to the young gun, towering over him and still managing to look menacing despite being clothed like a dumb tourist, making Axl shrink into himself, "Try me."</p><p>"...okay! Two weeks it is!" he gave a weak salute. </p><p>"Good. And if you say anything to X I will make it four weeks."</p><p>Axl straightened back out, no longer intimidated, "What? I was just trying to help!"</p><p>"Your dumb hints aren't helping."</p><p>"You just need some encouragement!"</p><p>"If I didn't know better I would say you think this is funny." Zero said morosely.</p><p>"Funny? This is hilarious!"</p><p>The combatdroid didn't realize his conflicts could be so entertaining to anyone, except maybe Sigma...</p><p>"Alright, you can get in."</p><p>"WOO." Axl hopped in to the left seat, Zero took his time walking over to the right. When he sat down a padded bar locked down over his chest. </p><p>"Excited yet??" </p><p>"It feels like being in a space shuttle, honestly." Zero adjusted the other straps and sat back. Of course he wasn't scared, he had been through enough similar experiences.<br/>
He spotted X and Alia had moved to the front of the spectators. He met X's eyes, who sent him a thumbs up. Zero signaled back. This would be no problem.</p><p>The other ride operator was a little more enthusiastic, "Okay you both ready for the ride of your life?!" he called out from the side.</p><p>"Yeah!!" Axl kicked his legs with excitement. Zero watched a little mechaniloid bird passing over the park.</p><p>There was a hissing sound, and the ride began to tilt backward. Then it stopped. What was the hold up?</p><p>"Do we have to count down or something?" Axl asked breathlessly. </p><p>"Maybe something's wrong?" Zero looked around them, but they were in a small pit now, he couldn't see much. </p><p>Axl was bouncing in his seat, Zero was blankly looking up at the sky, waiting for something. It did begin to make him a little nervous.</p><p>He sat up to say something, but the other ride operator immediately said, "Put your head back!"</p><p>"I'm just asking if we can get this over wi-"</p><p>Zero was cut off as they were launched into the air, all the wind being sucked out of him. </p><p>"Ahhh!!!! This is amazing!!" Axl screamed and laughed as they shot further up at a ridiculous speed.</p><p>Zero realized that this was nothing like launching a space shuttle, or anything he had ever piloted for that matter. </p><p>This was way worse.</p><p>They finally reached the peak of the launch, and seemed to hover there for an impossibly long time. It was as if it were in slow motion. Zero had time to look over to his side, see that mechaniloid bird, and note to himself that it was indeed the same bird, before the ride finally began to fall back down. </p><p>No, he didn't like this. His systems were all struggling to find a balance and make sense of why he was free-falling in the sky. The wind hurt his face rushing past them as they picked up speed. The input was beginning to be too much, he shut his eyes but it did little to ease his distress.</p><p>"Zero!! Zero I-" suddenly Axl stopped screaming. They bounced back up into the air, thankfully not as high but it was still too fast. Zero looked over at the hunter in a panic. His eyes were open in a dead stare as if he had deactivated, he had lost his grip and his arms were flying around.</p><p>"Axl!!" he couldn't call his name again as they flipped over, and Zero realized they were falling head-first. His hair momentarily blocked his view of Axl until they bounced back up.</p><p>But as instantly as he had shut off, Axl turned back on, his eyes coming back to life and his face breaking into a smile, "This is so fun!! he gasped. But then on the next upswing his eyes blanked again and the smile disappeared.</p><p>"Axl!! What the hell?! Someone get us off!" he shouted desperately, although they were far too high for anyone to hear.</p><p>"Let us - AHHH" another rough bounce took Zero out of his seat and slammed him back in, he couldn't tell up from down at this point. They could have been halfway to space or a few feet from the ground, Zero didn't know. But suddenly he felt everything straighten, the hook had grabbed the metal holding from below and was bringing them back. The bouncing had finally ceased. They were slowly being lowered, Zero looked down and spotted X at the front, but he was still too far to make out his face. He grabbed Axl's loose arm, </p><p>"Axl!! Axl wake up!"</p><p>This had been a horrible idea, this was what he deserved for listening to the brat. He felt more scared now than before the ride.</p><p>With a loud 'click' the ride was secured back in place. Zero nearly tore off the straps and shoved the bar up until it crunched, practically breaking the lock mechanism. Despite the world still spinning he stood in front of Axl, desperately grabbing at his arms and shaking him.</p><p>"Wait-something's wrong!" he heard Alia's voice behind him. Immediately X and Alia were by his side on the platform.</p><p>"What the-? Axl!!" X cried.</p><p>Neither ride operator reacted, and Zero was about to angrily call them out on it. But he felt motion in his hands, Axl was awake again.</p><p>The life returned to his eyes and he jumped, </p><p>"Woooo!!! That was SO FUN!" he screamed in Zero's face. His utter delight was replaced by confusion, "Wait..are we on the ground now? How did we get here?"</p><p>Zero let his arms go and stepped back, he wasn't sure if he was dizzy with relief or it was still the ride.</p><p>"Ugh! Axl you scared us!" Alia scooped Axl up in a hug, which confused him even more.</p><p>"What did I do? Did something happen? I was falling and then...we were on the ground."</p><p>X sighed with relief, "You probably lost oxygen too fast and your systems shut down...I hope it was worth it." </p><p>Axl jumped from the seat and bounded away, "Hell yeah, that was the best!! Zero did you like it?!"</p><p>Zero walked slowly off the platform, X and Alia following close behind, more than a little concerned. </p><p>"So uh...how was it?" X finally asked. They had stopped around the food area where there was room to sit. Zero had placed himself at a bench and had his head in his hands, his systems still trying to readjust to solid ground. He didn't answer.</p><p>Alia patted his head, his hair was now a frizzy mess from flying all over the place, "We'll take that as a negative review...I suppose you're not in the mood for food now, right?"</p><p>"I am!" Axl said. </p><p>Despite all the good smells around them, Zero internally agreed, there was no way he was eating food at the moment. Now he understood why the girl before him had thrown up. At least as a reploid he could function on an empty stomach and hadn't eaten any breakfast.</p><p>"I think I'm okay too, for now." X said, "You guys go ahead. I might try something later."</p><p>"Sure thing. Well, you two can go find something to do, I have a feeling we'll be in the lines for awhile." Alia handed X the map of the park, as Zero was still hunched over.</p><p>"At least come look at the menus, X. Then you can - ah -" he jumped and looked back at Alia, "....nevermind, yeah I'll tell you what I find later. Bye!" he turned to leave with the navigator and was rubbing the back of his neck. X thought that had been odd, but he let it go and started surveying the map.</p><p>"...You didn't have to stay behind with me, I'm fine." Zero said eventually.</p><p>"I didn't. I really don't want to eat right now. Just watching you guys was enough to make me woozy." </p><p>Zero looked up and saw that X was being genuine, although he always was, so checking was foolish. </p><p>"So, what do you want to do?"</p><p>"Are you okay with getting up?"</p><p>Zero jumped to his feet, letting his machismo overshadow the dizziness that ensued, "Of course. That was nothing." X didn't look convinced, but he knew better than to question Zero's strength. He opened the map, letting Zero hold one half. It was a large theme park, although it wasn't altogether clear what the 'theme' of the place was supposed to be. He pinpointed their current location,</p><p>"It's so archaic to use a paper map." he commented.</p><p>"I think it's kind of charming." X said, "We can keep it for a souvenir."</p><p>"That's true." Zero smiled at the sentiment, he held the map a little more gently so he didn't wrinkle the paper.</p><p>"There's the fairground area around the corner, I bet there are games." X suggested.</p><p>The two made their way through the crowds where the narrow rows opened up into a more spread out area. The rides were on one half and the games were grouped on the other half. At the end of the park was a massive ferris wheel. </p><p>"By the way, Zero...what did Axl say to you that made you agree to go on the slingshot?" X asked innocently.</p><p>Zero became dizzy all over again. With such little warning, he had no chance to concoct a lie,</p><p>"Uh...he said he would tell my secret." </p><p>"Secret? What secret is that...?" X stepped in front of Zero, suddenly engaged. </p><p>
  <i>That I love you so damn much I've gone nuts and bolts.</i>
</p><p>Zero forced himself to regain his composure, "If I told you it wouldn't be a secret, would it?" he tapped X on the head, losing his fingers in his fluffy hair.</p><p>X's face scrunched in annoyance, "Hmph, I guess. I won't pry, but I can't say I'm not curious." suddenly then his face fell, and he looked genuinely upset, "Wait...this isn't about what's been bothering you the past couple weeks, is it?"</p><p>The red reploid felt hopelessly trapped. Should he just come out with all of it? Would a place and time like this suffice? No! He needed more time to figure out what he was going to say, he hadn't prepared yet. He wanted more time, this was too unexpected. And while normally Zero dealt with the unexpected all the time, for some reason this left him feeling completely helpless.</p><p>"N-no, it's not." he choked out. X did not look the least bit convinced. He shut his eyes and looked away, </p><p>"Alright." </p><p>They walked on in uncomfortable silence. Zero knew he should have felt guilty for lying to X, but he only felt annoyed, both with himself and just in general. He observed all the game stalls that X marched past, and the couples that were at some of them. He watched a man hand a ridiculously large stuffed animal to a woman who was jumping up and down, and rewarded him with a kiss. Another couple was holding hands as they threw rings onto projected e-tank cans. Zero felt sick all over again. Who was he kidding? He couldn't be like them. Maybe he was a fool for even believing this was possible. After all, he had messed it up the first time. Now would he mess things up with X? Even imagining all the awful potential routes that could take made Zero grimace. </p><p>He was startled when he bumped into X's back, he cursed himself for not sensing him coming into his periphery, that's how bad he had just been moping. He saw X was eyeing something in the game stall, and he immediately knew what it was: a fancy little robot action figure, all built and on display on the shelf. </p><p>X and his toys. It made Zero chuckle, despite the current circumstances,</p><p>"Found something?" he asked slyly.</p><p>"...no." X turned his head back and kept walking, as if he had really fooled Zero.</p><p>The combatdroid approached the stall and pointed at the figurine hiding amongst the sea of cheap stuffed animals, "What do I do to win that one?"</p><p>"Oof, that's a tier three prize," the man said, waving his hand dismissively, "you got to win a lot of games to get that one, that's been there since I started working for this establishment."</p><p>X had stopped and was now looking behind him when he realized Zero had disappeared. When he saw where he was he ran to his side,</p><p>"Zero, what are you-??"</p><p>"How do I play?"</p><p>"Well, you need tickets first. You get them over there, and then I can show you, if you're really up to it."</p><p>"Zero, no!" X tugged on his sleeve, "I was just looking at it, I don't want it!"</p><p>He turned to look down at the blue reploid, seeing right through his front. X huffed, "Okay, I don't want it THAT badly for you to spend money on it!"</p><p>But Zero wouldn't listen, despite X protesting in the line for tickets the entire time. He insisted that he would try a few times anyway. After all, weren't they there for playing games and all that fun crap in the first place? </p><p>They returned to the game booth, X uncomfortably following behind Zero this time. But the booth was already occupied by two women, a reploid and a human, both around the same height. They stopped and looked back at the hunters.</p><p>"Welcome back! These ladies are playing right now, you can be next." the worker said cheerily, he seemed happy to be getting business.</p><p>"You guys can go first, we're just browsing." the human girl said, "Are you...trying to get something in particular?"</p><p>"Yes." Zero answered, but he didn't bother to elaborate.</p><p>"Can we watch?" the reploid girl asked.</p><p>"Um, sure." </p><p>X just half hid behind Zero, even more embarrassed than before. He approached the front of the counter and set the tickets down, eyeing the man with determination. He now seemed uncomfortable,</p><p>"Ahem, um, right. Have you ever played basketball, sir?"</p><p>"No."</p><p>"Ah, okay, well..." he turned and pointed along the wall at all the baskets, "It's real simple, you just got to make three out of the five baskets, and you win a prize. Now, to get that third tier prize you have to do that three times. Think you're up for it?"</p><p>"Yes." he answered simply. He was aware of the two women behind him coming closer,</p><p>"Let's watch!"</p><p>"You can do it!"</p><p>X was looking away, his face still dark. </p><p>It seemed simple enough, just aim the ball into the basket? How hard could that be? The worker released a little door on a slide, and five beat-up orange balls came tumbling down into the front. Zero carefully measured his first try, weighing the ball and trying to project how much strength he needed to put into the throw.</p><p>His took the shot, the ball slammed into the back wall of the stall and shook the entire thing. The worker man wrung his hands, "Not so hard, buddy!!"</p><p>Now that meant he had one more mistake left to make. Zero knew he was putting too much pressure on himself, but he always did when things got competitive. It was even worse when he was competing against himself. He threw another one with a lot less force, but it stopped short of the basket. </p><p>"Awwww." both of the girls cried. </p><p>"Make these count!" the man said.</p><p>Zero looked back at X, who was now watching intently. He broke into an uneasy smile when he met Zero's gaze. The red reploid turned back, that was not the reaction he had been hoping for. He took the next shot. It actually got in! Both girls cheered loudly. Zero tried it again, the ball bounced once on the rim but it rolled in. He was getting the hang of this. He concentrated, thinking of the basket like a target, he threw the ball up higher this time, hoping it would get more air to take it far enough. </p><p>It sailed through the basket.</p><p>"Nice work!!" the worker cheered. "So you do want to pick a prize? Or are you going for the next tier?"</p><p>"Next tier, please."</p><p>"You got it!"</p><p>As Zero was aiming the next shot he heard one of the girls behind him,</p><p>"So, um, is that your boyfriend, or...?"</p><p>Zero missed the shot, the ball not even touching the rim. He grabbed the next ball,</p><p>"My what?! No - no, we're not...um.."</p><p>The ball bounced off the rim and landed close to the worker's head, he yelped and jumped out of the way.</p><p>"Are you related, then?"</p><p>"No! No, he's - he's my friend." </p><p>Zero aimed the third ball, but he had put too much power into it again, it sailed past the basket and hit the wall, although not with as much force as the first time.</p><p>"Oh, too bad! You can try again, you don't have to win them in a row to get to third tier."</p><p>Zero slapped down more tickets.</p><p>"How long have you two been friends?"</p><p>"Oh....a long time...." </p><p>The worker let down three more balls into the front, refilling it to five, Zero bent down to grab one he recognized he made a basket with the first time. He was then aware of a hand on the counter as he came back up,</p><p>"So...what are you trying for?" it was the human girl, she smiled up at Zero.</p><p>"A third tier prize."</p><p>"That's a lot of tickets to try for one thing, big guy."</p><p>Big guy..? Zero was maybe an inch taller than her. </p><p>"I only bought tickets for this anyway."</p><p>"I think you can do it!" she winked at him.</p><p>Zero just turned back to the game, he tried to imagine it was X saying that. He tried his initial strategy of aiming a little higher to compensate for the distance, it bounced off the rim but it went in. Then the second did, and the third. The girl next to him jumped and clapped her hands in delight. He turned back to look at X, he was into it now, his hands up eagerly at his sides, "Good job, Zero!"</p><p>"Going for that third tier?"</p><p>Zero set down his remaining tickets. It was now or never.</p><p>He made the first basket, and then the second, but he knew now was not the time to get cocky (which Zero knew he had difficulties with, sometimes). He picked up another ball he had made a previous basket with,</p><p>"You're a natural at this, you know? I've never seen anyone aim so well." the girl commented. Zero noticed she had scooted closer to him, to the point where it was setting off some of his sensors. He tried to ignore it and threw the ball, but it missed. </p><p>"Oh! I might have jinxed it, I'm sorry!"</p><p>"Could you back up, please?" Zero asked. She seemed startled, </p><p>"Oh! My bad. Yeah."</p><p>Zero had to reorient himself now, he tried to get back into position and he tossed it. But the second he let go of the ball he knew he had messed it up. It didn't get anywhere near the basket. Zero growled.</p><p>"Ope! Make this last one count!" the worker said. </p><p>Zero picked the last ball up, he glanced quickly at the little robot figure, and then back at the basket. He took the shot, focusing so hard on the basket that he didn't even acknowledge when the ball flew in.</p><p>"You did it!!" the human girl cried. The worker clapped, "Well done!"</p><p>He had to jump up to reach a back shelf where the boxes were stored, visible dust spread as he did so. He handed the small box to Zero, it was slightly too large to hold in one hand.</p><p>"Did you get what you wanted?" the girl asked, twirling her hair around her fingers.</p><p>"...kind of." he approached X, suddenly feeling a little shy, and set the box resolutely in his hands. X crumbled, his cheeks flushing pink and an excited smile lighting up his face, </p><p>"I said you didn't have to!! I....thank you, Zero!"</p><p>He could tell X hadn't forgotten their awkward exchange from earlier, but he now seemed willing to put it behind him for now, "Did you think winning me this would get you back on my good side?"</p><p>"How could it not? You noticed it from a mile away."</p><p>"So...would you mind winning me a prize too?" the reploid girl asked coyly, "I have tickets."</p><p>They had to be reminded that there was someone next to them. Zero looked at X to gauge his reaction. He still had a dopey smile on his face and was looking up at Zero, only half noticing her question.</p><p>"Like, this game?" Zero asked blankly. </p><p>"Yeah!" she pointed back at the booth, "Trina and I both love the stuffed mettaurs." </p><p>He saw no reason to say no, it was always good to help someone. Zero guessed that they weren't too skilled at the games, "Um, sure."</p><p>The four of them all gathered closer to the booth and Zero went back to attempting the baskets. It actually seemed easier to him, whether that was because the pressure was now off or he was improving he couldn't tell. The first round X was standing next to him, cheering with the girls every time he made a basket. But by the third round he suddenly noticed that X had been pushed back and both the girls were on either side of him. He only knew because they set off Zero's proximity sensors in the normal way when someone unknown was close. When X was close to him it was not the same uneasy feeling he usually got. But after last night's human...encounter, his sensors and his defenses were a little frazzled. </p><p>"Oooh, one more!! You can do it, Zero!"</p><p>"I want one first!"</p><p>"No way, I was the one who asked him!"</p><p>Both girls grabbed each of his arms, he was uncomfortable but he didn't want to be rude and shake them off. He stiffened and dropped the basketball.</p><p>"Who gets the first prize, Zero?" the reploid girl asked. He honestly didn't know what to say, why was that even important and why were they asking him?</p><p>Suddenly he felt another hand on his shoulder trying to pull him away.</p><p>"Maybe we better go find the others." it was X, his voice sounded tense. He turned back around to see what had him upset. </p><p>"You wanna leave now?"</p><p>"Aww, please, just one more basket!" one of the girls said, she tugged on Zero's arm.</p><p>X just looked away, his face unreadable except for the corners of his mouth that showed just the slightest hint of a frown. Zero didn't understand what had happened to change his mood so dramatically. It made him forget all about the game and the others around them. </p><p>"X? Are you alright?"</p><p>"I'm fine. You should...finish the game for them. I'm sorry."</p><p>Zero turned fully so he was facing X, gently letting the girls loose (or as gently as the combatdroid could manage) and he set a hand on his shoulder, angling his head so he could see X's face, "Are you sure?"</p><p>He nodded stiffly, smiling up at Zero. He could tell the smile was being forced, "I'm not trying to be rude." he shifted so he could see the two girls still at the booth, "Sorry about that."</p><p>"No, it's okay!"</p><p>"We'd love if you could just win us one, that's just fine."</p><p>He gave one last glance at X before he turned back and took the ball he had dropped. He had two balls left and only had to make one basket, he would make the first shot count so they could get out of here. He threw the ball and landed it in the basket easily.</p><p>"...Okay, well done! So um, who do I give this mettaur to?" the employee had watched everything awkwardly from the sidelines. He brought down the huge stuffed toy and looked between all four of them.</p><p>"I gotta go." Zero turned to leave, but the human girl reached for his arm first.</p><p>"Wait! I just have a question for you..."</p><p>Zero patiently waited, his face blank.</p><p>"So if that's not your boyfriend, are you single...?"</p><p>"Am I what?"</p><p>"We gotta go!" X reached in and took his free hand, pulling him away in a hurry.</p><p>Zero let himself be led for a few moments, not bothering to look back at the pair. He was now extremely confused. Why are random people asking such strange questions, and why was X now acting even stranger? Not that he minded holding X's hand...</p><p>"...we should find Alia and Axl." the blue reploid said finally. They had left the game area of the park and were back at the food stalls. X stopped, but he didn't release Zero's hand, which of course Zero was acutely aware of.</p><p>"X, what's wrong? You're acting weird all of a sudden."</p><p>X finally let go and turned to him, looking up at the red reploid, "I'm sorry. I was afraid you were uncomfortable with those two flirting with you so much, and-"</p><p>"Is that what they were doing? Is that why they kept grabbing on to me?"</p><p>X's face went red, and he now looked even more troubled, "Yes, Zero...did-did you not know that?"</p><p>He shook his head.</p><p>"Ah..." X's gaze went back to the ground, "You didn't seem like you were enjoying it, so I made up that we had to leave, I thought I was helping you out."</p><p>Zero scratched the back of his head, still keeping his eyes on X, "I guess that explains why she asked that. It didn't make me uncomfortable I guess. I just didn't know what to say to them. But you didn't seem okay with it either."</p><p>X started to shrink in on himself, he seemed embarrassed, "My-my bad. I was fine! I mean, I don't care. I'm glad you were making new friends, I just..."</p><p>"You seemed annoyed with them."</p><p>X's free hand balled into a tight fist while the other was starting to crush the figurine box, confusing Zero even more. X didn't have a mean circuit in his entire system, he wouldn't intentionally be rude to strangers. So what got him so upset about all this?</p><p>Unless...</p><p>"Wait," Zero said, "were you mad that she kept asking if you were my...?" he trailed off, the last word caught in his throat unexpectedly. Now Zero was the one who felt dumb. He couldn't bring himself to say it. But X caught his meaning anyway, now he was crossing his arms, as if he were trying to make himself as small as possible. His hair concealed his face, since he was still looking down. He didn't speak for a moment, which made Zero nervous. Why was that such a sensitive question to X? Zero felt his core quicken, and he felt the heat creeping up into his face. He cursed himself internally for getting so flustered.</p><p>X shook his head roughly, "No!" he finally made eye contact with Zero, his own face was still a deep red, "No...I was...I was worried that..."</p><p>"Hey, there they are." Axl's voice had cut him off. Both hunters looked toward the source of the noise. Alia and Axl were approaching from the other side of the row, he ran over to them and left Alia behind,</p><p>"We just finished eating, I was about to turn on the comm but we were gonna look at the game area first." his eyes wandered to the box X was holding, "You won something??"</p><p>"Ah, Zero won it for me." he responded quietly.</p><p>Axl pat the hunter on the shoulder, "Good ol' Zero! You always spoil X."</p><p>"I-I don't know about that!!" X exclaimed, the red coming back into his face full force.</p><p>Axl just laughed, "So you gonna win something for me??"</p><p>"Nah."</p><p>"How did I know you were gonna say that?" Axl slumped over dramatically, "Hey! But Alia won something."</p><p>She was holding a small stuffed dog, "We played at the weight guessing booth...it was a human, he had no idea how reploids are built, so I figured it would be fun to fool him."</p><p>"I can't believe you let someone guess your weight..." Zero said.</p><p>"Isn't that kind of cheating?" X asked. Alia lightly smacked him with the plush,</p><p>"Nonsense! He didn't specify, after all."</p><p> X seemed to brighten in response, "Haha, true! I didn't know you like things like that, Alia."</p><p>She shrugged, "Maybe I'll give it to Layer or Palette, I think they both like plush toys. I don't have room for anything like this anyway."</p><p>"Alia just wanted to be a troll." Axl said proudly. Alia smacked him as hard as she could with the toy.</p><p>"Did you guys want to get some food now? We grabbed menus from a lot of the stalls, you can pick what you want." </p><p>"Or rides!" Axl added. </p><p>"How are you ready for more rides after that last thing??" X asked, "Um...I'm not really in the mood for food still. Are you, Zero?"</p><p>He glanced back at Zero, his face now clear of any of the distress from before. He took it as a welcome opportunity to drop the matter. He even sighed with relief, which he hadn't intended to let that slip out in front of everyone, but it was too late now, "No, I'm fine."</p><p>They made their way back to the fairground, first to get tickets, since X and Zero had already learned that the hard way. The lines for the rides were also long, it was soon past dark and they had only managed a few rides, although the ones they had gone on were great. X and Zero had also taken a break to find something to eat and for everyone to get an e-tank. They sat around the little dining section, which were just some standing-style tables in order to pack more patrons in to the area. </p><p>X was sharing a funnel cake with Zero, they both took turns tearing pieces off, "When does this place close again? I wonder if we can make it on to another ride or two?" he said while waiting for Zero to pass the cake back.</p><p>Alia opened the paper map, "This says 10PM...it's almost nine now, we got time. What did you have in mind, X?"</p><p>"Nothing in particular, I just..." the blue reploid suddenly froze, hand in mid-air with some cake, "do...do you guys feel something?"</p><p>Zero nodded gravely, Axl stiffened and looked around them discreetly. Alia frowned, "What do you mean?"</p><p>"Like we're being watched." Zero growled. It was definitely not a pleasant feeling, it felt predatory, and dangerously familiar.</p><p>"It's really weak, but I'm sensing it." Axl had his hand up at his head, ready to activate his armor.</p><p>But as soon as it appeared, it was gone. X set down the pastry and all three hunters turned away from the table so they could survey their perimeter. There was nothing out of the ordinary, just throngs of people all walking past or eating or talking. Alia didn't dare speak until they turned back around, all shrugging, </p><p>"False alarm I guess?" X said. </p><p>"Maybe someone just being a creep." Axl suggested, "That was weird though."</p><p>"Well, anyway...I was thinking I'd like the ferris wheel." X said, "The view has to be great at the top."</p><p>"I don't need any more views." Zero responded dryly, "I'm game, though."</p><p>"Aha, right. Are you sure, Zero?"</p><p>He was about to respond when he saw Axl and Alia doing something at the corner of his eye, he glanced at them, eyebrow raised. They weren't saying anything, but they had clearly been communicating. They both intentionally avoided eye contact with him,</p><p>"That sounds like a great end to the day!" Alia said cheerfully.</p><p>"Let's go for it!" Axl seemed a little too excited. </p><p>X didn't seem to notice any of what had just transpired. They had finished off the funnel cake and X went to find a trash can for the plate. Zero only had time to shoot them both questioning looks before he got back and they all left towards the ferris wheel. </p><p>The line was especially long, although it was going quickly since there were so many carriages. It also seemed like it was older people making up the majority with couples and groups of friends,  as most likely families with children had left for the night. As they got closer to the ride itself Zero noticed that the carriages seated four occupants. Good, then they could all sit in one. He was willing to bet that Axl and Alia had tried to plan to get them to sit alone together on one. Nope! He knew that they were doing all this for his own good, but he still felt some misplaced glee at their failure. After all the previous miscommunications and disasters involving X today, he was done trying. He pushed down the processes in his logic units telling him that this would only gave him tomorrow morning to achieve his goal. Today at least he could mark as an 'attempt', even though he really hadn't attempted outright...at all. </p><p>But he would tell himself he tried. </p><p>Finally they were approaching the bottom of the massive ferris wheel. Up this close all the lights flashing made it hard to see anything, but Zero knew it would be fine once they got into the carriage. The next one rolled to the bottom, only two occupants got out, leaving the four reploids unsure of what to do. A worker gestured into the carriage,</p><p>"Only two of you, hurry!"</p><p>Before Zero could react Alia and Axl were being shuffled inside. They both looked back and shrugged at X and Zero. Then they shrugged at each other. No big deal, they would have to share a carriage with strangers. </p><p>The next carriage rolled down and the door swung open, the two seats were empty on one side already. On the other were two girls. They both gasped and waved.</p><p>Oh, <i>bolts.</i></p><p>"Heyy!! Look who it is!"</p><p>"X and Zero! Wow, this is crazy!" </p><p>They sat down on the seat opposite of Trina the human and her reploid friend. They now had two giant stuffed mettaurs, each had one on their lap.</p><p>"It's good to see you guys again! Did you find your friends?" the reploid girl asked. They both seemed ecstatic to see them again.. </p><p>"Yeah, we did...um, I see you got another one?" X responded politely, pointing to the stuffed toy.</p><p>Trina waved it in X's face, "Yep!! We made some new friends earlier who were really good at that game too. Not quite as good as you though, Zero."</p><p>X didn't respond, and Zero just plain didn't know what to say. He started to look out the window, trying to take in the sights. He had to admit, the park looked cool at night, with all the bright lights of the rides and displays. </p><p>"So, Trina had another question for you! Right, Trina??" the reploid girl cut in after only a moment.</p><p>"Olenka!! Shhh!!" they were both giggling, "Well, it was just that you guys ran off so quickly, we didn't really have a chance to chat..."</p><p>Just to be polite, Zero moved his attention back to the girls. X had as well, Zero could sense the coldness emanating from him, something usually reserved for enemies or the very few individuals that X did not like. He almost wanted to tap him on the arm or give him some kind of signal to calm down. </p><p>"Oh, um, what did you want to talk about?" Zero asked, trying not to pick up on X's mood himself.</p><p>"I hope we weren't bothering you earlier, that's all!" Trina said. </p><p>He felt X deflate next to him, "No, of course not!" he sounded guilty.</p><p>Zero realized that they were at the very top, he tried to catch a glimpse.</p><p>The girl gave a nervous laugh, "I WAS curious...you know, I've never dated a reploid before, but...I had to ask first if you have a...special someone already." she finished bashfully.</p><p>Zero closed his eyes, keeping his expression neutral, "I do, I'm sorry."</p><p>He felt X shift next to him, and his hands tighten. He swiftly moved them to his lap and stared intently out of the window.</p><p>"Oh! I'm sorry then!" Trina sat back.</p><p>"Well, whoever they are, they're lucky to have you, Zero." Olenka winked at him, "You're quiet, but I can tell you're a real softie."</p><p>"I, uh....thanks." Zero said awkwardly, he also moved to focus hard on the window next to him, but he realized that they were back at the bottom. </p><p>The doors couldn't open fast enough. The girls both said goodbye and thanked Zero again before running out. X and Zero silently followed them off the platform, at a safe distance so they wouldn't have to talk again. They found themselves in an odd corner where people were filing back out to the fairground area. Axl and Alia were nowhere to be found. Zero made a start to keep walking but X grabbed his arm, gripping it far too tightly.</p><p>"Wait, Zero."</p><p>He turned to his side where X had grabbed him, pulling him away from the crowd, he still didn't let go. The shorter reploid wouldn't look up at him, as if he was ashamed of something, "Zero...about earlier,"</p><p>Zero's core felt like it was jumping into overdrive, he couldn't say anything, so he just stared at X, although he wasn't really sure if X noticed at this point,</p><p>"I was afraid that's how you still felt, that's why I tried to stop them from talking to you...I shouldn't have made that decision for you, I'm sorry. I just...I was afraid of that too."</p><p>Too? As in there was something else he was afraid of? Now Zero felt even more lost, "It's no big deal, I don't really like telling anyone that I'm single anyway, just gives people ideas. I know you were looking out for me."</p><p>X's head snapped up, "But...you AREN'T single. You just told them."</p><p>"I'm not?"</p><p>"Zero!" X stepped back, his hand falling off his arm, he looked almost frantic, "You're confusing me. You-you said you have a 'special someone'...but you-"</p><p>Zero's hand flew to his forehead in realization, "No! I didn't mean it like that. I don't, X. I'm....I'm over Iris, if that's what you meant." his hand dropped over his eyes, "Damn, I never even thought of all of...is that what you've been worried about?" </p><p>When he dropped his hand to look at X he didn't appear to be relieved as he expected. His arms were still hanging limply at his sides, all of the lights from the fairground were casting odd shadows on his face, making it difficult to discern his expression. He looked up at Zero for a moment, he was smiling but the usual light was gone from his eyes, "Yeah." he said shortly.</p><p>Something about X's face nearly broke his heart. He couldn't understand why he was so upset. It wasn't supposed to be like this right now, they were supposed to be having fun. Right now the combatdroid just felt like a tangled mess of emotions and confusion, and that it was all his fault. Why couldn't these things be as straightforward as combat? X would have had all this figured out in a matter of seconds. It was just too bad the one in the middle of all his problems right now was the reploid in question. He sighed, he had to at least make this part right.</p><p>"Hey," he closed the distance between them, his hand settling easily on his shoulder, "thanks for looking out for me, buddy. And..." his other hand lifted X's chin up so their eyes met, "I'm sorry for making you worry. I'm alright, that was a long time ago. I've moved on as well as I can."</p><p>X smiled again, a genuine and warm smile this time. His eyes almost dazzled in all the lights of the ferris wheel above them, and the way he held on to Zero's gaze sent a thrill through the red reploid. </p><p><i>I want to kiss him.</i> He realized. His hand was still cradling X's chin, he could just easily bring him a little closer and...</p><p>They both jumped at an odd sensation that put their sensors on high alert. They were being watched again. Out of habit they got into their regular stance, back to back to get the most surveillance area,</p><p>"You feel that again?"</p><p>"Yeah...it's the same as before." X's hand instinctively went around his forearm, even though he didn't have his buster equipped.</p><p>People started to stare at them, standing stock still in a battle formation in the middle of a fair. Both reploids suddenly felt a little foolish. Zero's hand left his pocket where his saber was, "Maybe we should just get out of here."</p><p>"Right..."</p><p>X pinged Alia over their comm, asking where they had gone to. They met up further out from the ferris wheel, both she and Axl immediately noticed they were distressed.</p><p>"X? Zero?? What happened?" Alia asked, concerned, "Did Zero say something to you, X?"</p><p>"Huh?"</p><p>Zero's hand went to his face again,</p><p>"Um, no. We felt that same signal from before, but we didn't see anything. I think we should go."</p><p>Alia let out a sigh, "Oh..."</p><p>Axl also didn't seem to react appropriately to the news, "Sounds good! We didn't know what you guys were up to for a moment there."</p><p>"You could have pinged us." X said blankly.</p><p>"Yeah, but uh...."</p><p>"Let's go." Zero interrupted Axl from humiliating him further and walked off. At least the warnings he was getting were gone for now.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I warned you this was nothing but silliness. I WARNED you. Pure stupidity.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Fireworks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A happy ending! But not for everyone...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a little past ten once the group made it back to the campsite. Despite being rather late there were a lot of people still outside, sitting around campfires and playing music, children were running around either on foot or on bikes. A distinct smokey smell hung in the air, and with all the lights and fires around there were no lights needed to see. </p><p>"This is awesome!" Axl said, "I thought it would be quiet out in the country but this place is poppin! I want to have our own fire this time."</p><p>"Me too!" X added, "I think it will be a lot easier without having to worry about keeping a child safe from the fire pit this time."</p><p>"Nah, we still got to keep an eye on Axl." Zero said.</p><p>"Hey!!"</p><p>X went to a neighboring cabin to borrow some lighter fluid (he didn't dare go back to Ben's family's cabin), but the matches were already provided at their own. It was a lot quieter than yesterday's campfire.They were all tired after the long day, but it was a good type of tired. Someone would talk every now and then about the day, mostly at Zero or Axl's expense. Zero didn't really care to retort back, as he usually did. He was tired, but he was also secretly moping and feeling sorry for himself. It was now the end of Saturday, and if anything Zero was further from his goal than before. He was going to make sure he wasn't left alone with Axl and/or Alia for the rest of the weekend, as he wouldn't even know what to say at that point. Things had just gotten even more strange...the red reploid wondered if X would tell either of them about what had happened today. Zero certainly wouldn't. The memories alternated between cringey and just plain strange to him. Those girls had been flirting with him the entire time?? He just thought they were being a little clingy, but he had no idea they <i>liked</i> him. He wondered if X felt left out after Zero had gotten all that attention.</p><p>Wait.</p><p>If he had no idea that those girls had been flirting with him all day...he wouldn't know if anyone else was ever interested in him. What if X was dropping hints? What if X WAS interested? The idea made Zero tense up. </p><p>He forced himself to relax, shaking his head clear. That was just wishful thinking. </p><p>"Zero? You okay?" Axl poked him. Zero responded with a languid look, even Axl understood his meaning. He just patted his arm, "You're okay...vacation isn't over yet."</p><p>Before Zero could respond a loud boom shocked them all from their seats. It was immediately followed by a crackling sound, and the sky lit up.</p><p>"Fireworks!" Alia exclaimed. They all laughed at their reaction and sat back down, keeping their eyes to the sky.</p><p>Another one quickly followed, bursting in the air with splashes of green and red. Wherever they were being set off was very close, making them extremely loud and bright. They all watched the show, mesmerized. It lasted a long time, with at least a dozen different fireworks, each one more impressive than the last. It was impossible not to be cheered up by the display, Zero's previous angst was melting away. He remembered that they were on vacation after all, it was peaceful, the show was amazing, and he was surrounded by his friends. And besides, he still had half of tomorrow, there was still time...</p><p>There was a pause in the fireworks, allowing the smoke to clear from their vision. They all silently waited to see if that was the end.<br/>
Something else startled Zero to jump back up and turn around. X and Axl quickly followed. Another firework, an especially bright one, lit up the sky, and in the flash Zero saw someone walking toward them from the forest. His sensors were blaring with warnings, he summoned his armor, the sounds behind him told him that X and Axl had as well. </p><p>"Who's there?!" he jumped over the bench, the other two joining him at either side.</p><p>Another firework went off, this one with some residual sparkles falling after the main one, it kept their field of vision lit for a bit longer. Zero almost thought the flashes were making him see things, but as it stepped closer he realized his intuition had been right,</p><p>"Vile!?"</p><p>His armor gleamed off the glow of the dying fire, his figure accented every time another firework went off, "Long time no see, gentlebots!"</p><p>"Not long enough," X drew his buster, stepping to the side to cover Alia. She growled angrily, her voice icy cold, </p><p>"What are you doing here?? This isn't anywhere near Abel City!"</p><p>Vile shrugged, not making any move to engage his trademark shoulder cannon, "I know that. Would you believe me if I said I was on vacation too?"</p><p>"Um...no." Axl sounded a little dumbfounded, but he kept his guns ready.</p><p>"I just came here trying to relax for a bit," the maverick put his hands up defensively, "bad guys need breaks too, after all!"</p><p>"You really think we're going to believe that?!" X demanded angrily.</p><p>"Hey hey! Why do you think I've been keeping on the down low for so long? No one out here would recognize me, so I came for a vacation...but then I sensed X's presence here on Friday. I thought I had gone crazy, but sure enough, I tracked him down today and I ended up finding all four of you, what a bonus!"</p><p>X gasped, "It was you stalking us today!" </p><p>"I was going to wait until you were all sleeping, to catch you off guard, but I just couldn't wait any longer. Now let's see how great the top Maverick Hunters are without their base to back them up."</p><p>"This is getting old, Vile. You need to stop obsessesing over X." Zero yelled over the boom of the fireworks.</p><p>"I could say the same to you too, pal." he replied shrewdly. </p><p>"Shut up!!!" That was enough, Zero came running at Vile with his saber drawn, intent on cutting him in half. He dodged with more than enough time, taking refuge on top of a large tree branch.</p><p>"Let's make this quick! If we hurry people will just think it's more fireworks." X called out, charging his buster and aiming for the tree. Vile began raining fire down on the campsite, turning their fire pit and picnic area into smoldering ruins, "...or not."</p><p>"That's just like you, X, always the goody two-shoes." </p><p>"These people are on vacation!" X gritted his teeth, "We didn't come here to ruin their time with more warfare!" X had immediately given up on preserving their cover and sent a charge shot straight into the tree, the branch Vile was on fell down in smoldering flames from the plasma. </p><p>Zero realized that X had a point, he turned to Axl and Alia, "You two, evacuate everyone for us, we can get rid of Vile."</p><p>"Roger! Alia, I'll go towards the outside, you get them safe around here." he sped off, powered by his boosters. Alia had since activated her regular headset and was running off, most likely contacting HQ already. </p><p>Zero turned back to the matter at hand, struggling to find where their enemy had disappeared to. He had the cover of the trees and the dark along with the chaos of the fireworks. The combatdroid spotted a shadow moving behind their cabin in the light of the last explosion. X was ahead of him and was running in his direction. They were on the offensive, and it was two to one, Zero felt confident despite their disadvantages. He readied his saber and ran to the front of the cabin. He was going to just release his blade, but he remembered the other cabins nearby. Alia couldn't have cleared all civilians out yet. He tried to pinpoint the maverick's location, but he was moving quickly. </p><p>"Zero! Behind you!" X called from somewhere. Zero turned just in time to dodge Vile's fire, he had gotten up on the roof of their cabin. Zero responded with his own buster, which blasted half of the roof off.</p><p>"Woah!!" a tiny, familiar voice overcame his audio sensors. Ben. He turned to see the little boy running toward their front yard, if Zero had a heart it would have figuratively dropped to his toes.</p><p>"Ben! Run away!!" Zero yelled desperately. He could hear Vile's cannon powering up, aimed in his direction, he would hit the child for sure.</p><p>X must have seen him before Zero heard him, he rushed past and Ben disappeared. Zero dodged the fire just in time, a piece of shrapnel embedding itself in his shoulder. Despite the pain he was relieved. He could now focus on the battle, he followed Vile on to the roof, dodging more shots as he jumped left and right. He heard a car alarm go off in the distance from the impact. </p><p>The finale of the fireworks was now going off, a bunch of small sparkling lights that kept the area well lit. Zero closed in on Vile, readying his saber to knock him off. He was cornering him onto the end of the roof, </p><p>"Give up, Vile!" </p><p>"Did you really think I didn't come prepared? You guys are losing your edge." </p><p>He lifted his leg and Zero saw something bounce out of a compartment, he immediately recognized the napalm smell. Vile jumped off the roof and an explosion knocked Zero off balance, rolling off the side until he slammed back on the ground. The impact left him dazed, laying on his back for a moment. Vile appeared above him instantly,</p><p>"One down, one to go..." Vile stomped on his chest, keeping him from moving even as he tried to grab his legs. </p><p>Another blast of light, but it hadn't been another firework this time. Zero felt the weight fly off his chest, he took advantage and jumped back to his feet.</p><p>"X!" it had been his buster. </p><p>"<i>Zero</i>." X had activated his comm, "<i>I'll surprise him from inside the cabin, chase him around the back for me.</i>"</p><p>"<i>Got it.</i>"</p><p>Vile had returned to the roof, preparing to rain his cannon along the ground, Zero jumped back up, his buster firing the entire time. He landed on the roof with a sickening 'crunch', and they both were knocked off balance. Zero realized that the roof was giving way.</p><p>"Shit, X!!" he had just run in to the cabin! </p><p>Vile took advantage of Zero's distraction and roughly kicked him across the jaw. The force was enough to send Zero flying off the cabin and into the remains of the fire pit. The stones and firewood crashed under him painfully. Before he could get back up another round of fire closed in on him, knocking his saber from his hands and destroying his buster. He was still more preoccupied with the cabin, which had now collapsed entirely, it was nothing more than a pile of rubble. He wanted to cry out but his vocal unit had been damaged too. He saw Vile approaching slowly, swaggering with his victory.</p><p>"I can't help but think this was all meant to be," he grabbed Zero's ponytail and yanked him to a sitting position. Zero cried out as his entire body protested the rough movement. He could hear Vile's voice in his aural receptor, his voice husky with a sinister satisfaction, "at least your vacation will be permanent now. Don't worry, I'll take good care of X for-"</p><p>A loud 'crack' and another rumble interrupted him, drawing both their attention to the cabin. A figure burst up from the pile of rubble, dust and splinters flying everywhere. It was X, he slowly rose to his feet, he was holding something. </p><p>"How did he-??" Vile let go of Zero in shock.</p><p>The small object X was holding fell apart in his hands, it had been a box of some sort. </p><p>Then Zero realized, it had been the little figurine from today.</p><p>"That. Was. From. Zero." </p><p>X's buster, without even charging, blasted a red strip of plasma straight into Vile's chest, knocking him back into the forest. Vile was screaming in pain, as X calmly walked to Zero's side. He could sense X's anger, the intensity of it almost scared the combatdroid. X started up his buster one more time: a charged shot, it lit up his face so Zero could see the steely determination in his expression. He let it go, the blast leaving burn marks as it passed the trees and consumed the maverick. Zero managed to get to his knees to see the aftermath. Vile was still screaming, until a purple flash signified his teleporting away. X immediately withdrew his buster and dove to Zero's side. Zero let himself be held by X and leaned into his embrace,</p><p>"Well, not what you planned exactly but it worked."</p><p>"Zero!! Don't talk, save your strength!" X's voice wavered. But Zero just chuckled, it hurt a bit, but it was worth it to calm his partner down,</p><p>"He didn't do too much damage, I'll be alright...I'm sorry about the toy."</p><p>"Ahaha..." now X chuckled, definitely embarrassed, "I might have overreacted a bit there."</p><p>"Nah, it's cute."</p><p>"I'm not cute!!" he sputtered.</p><p>"You're adorable."</p><p>"Zero!!" X only held him tighter, hiding his head in his chest. Zero could feel the heat radiating off of his face, or maybe it was the damage to his systems and he was overheating, it was hard to tell.</p><p>No, it was definitely him. The warnings began to crowd his senses, he took one last look at X's helmet in his face and tried to talk, "Just...don't listen to...anything Axl and....Alia say later..." the warnings gave way to unconsciousness.</p>
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</div>When Zero's systems came back online, he was vaguely aware that he was laying on a bed again. It felt like the cabin mattress. He tried to get a visual of where he was at but his optics were only working at half capacity. He could hear hushed voices, and it smelled like the cabin again. But their's had been destroyed, where was he?<p>"Zero!!" a high pitched voice overloaded his sound receptors, he jumped a little, which his body instantly punished him for.</p><p>He looked at his side and could make out little Ben's figure standing over him, "You're awake! I thought you were dead!!"</p><p>"Nah, been there, done that. Um...where am I?"</p><p>Ben shouted again even louder this time, glitching Zero's audio so he couldn't make out what he had just said. He saw another figure open the door to the room, it was a boy who looked similar to Ben, he walked up with an unsteady gait and gasped,</p><p>"Hi! I don't know if you remember me..."</p><p>Zero smiled, "We took you out of the pool the other day."</p><p>The boy nodded, "Thank you for that. I told Ben to let me know if you woke up so I could thank you myself."</p><p>"You're in our room! X brought you here." Ben announced proudly.</p><p>The memories began flooding back, Zero shot up in a rush, "X! Vile! Where is-?!" he was forced back down by the pain overwhelming his body. Maybe Vile had done more damage than he thought. Ben started to cry, so Zero quickly covered up his discomfort. He smiled despite the pain, something that was habit for him at this point.</p><p>"I'm okay, kid, I promise. Do you know where my friends are?"</p><p>Ben seemed convinced and dried his tears. The older brother still looked concerned, but he knew to play along, "They said they have business to do or something...there's a lot of reploids here now."</p><p>"They said it's our job to watch you! So I've been watching the whooooole time." Ben said. </p><p>"Ben, don't lie, you were taking a nap thirty minutes ago."</p><p>"Brother!!" he stomped his foot and then turned back to Zero, his eyes shining, "I didn't know you guys were the Maverick Hunters! I made s'mores for X and Zero and Axl!! I can't wait to tell my friends!"</p><p>Oh boy, Signas wasn't going to like this when it went down on the report...he counted out ever coming back here for vacation, if they were allowed to even leave HQ again.</p><p>Ben was still babbling excitedly, now he had moved on to being rescued by X earlier and how he went faster than any roller coaster he had ever been on. </p><p>"Ben, we should let Mr. Zero rest again, he worked hard saving everyone today."</p><p>Mr. Zero....? He knew that was meant to be respectful but he cringed internally all the same. Damn kids making him feel old. </p><p>"I appreciate it." Zero could feel his optics fading again, the last thing he saw was the older boy ushering his hyper little brother out of the room, who was still talking nonstop.</p>
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</div>The next time Zero awoke it was in a more familiar setting: a tabletop in medbay. He was back at HQ. His systems came fully online quickly, and he realized he had been repaired, it looked like his self-repair had done most of the work. They must have shut him down at some point, he had no memory of how he got here. Zero checked his internal clock: it was almost seven in the evening on Sunday, he had been knocked out for approximately eighteen hours. Vile really had done a number on him, and he had escaped too, although that part hadn't surprised him, unfortunately. Zero couldn't help but think that finally ending Vile would have been a great close to a vacation though.<p>The end of vacation! No!!</p><p>Zero scrambled off the table, quickly disconnecting himself from all the wires and chargers. He burst out of the med bay, but realized he had no idea where X would even be at this point. Recharging in his own room? Doing the inevitable reports they would have to do? Discussing the events with Signas? He decided to ping X on their shared comm, he picked up immediately,</p><p>"<i>Zero? You're awake!</i>" relief colored his tone, but suddenly his voice hardened through the transmission, "<i>Do you feel okay? Can you meet me outside? I need to tell you something.</i>"</p><p>"<i>Yeah, sure.</i>" he switched off the comm, nervous. It sounded like bad news. Then Zero realized how foolish he had been immediately reaching out to X like that. He had been so panicked about the little 'time limit' that he hadn't even considered what he was doing. He wasn't planning on telling him here at HQ. It was too late, he had already failed. </p><p>As he walked outside to the front courtyard Zero took some comfort in telling himself that he WOULD have told X that morning, if not for Vile messing up his plans. His logics unit told him that that was a complete and utter lie, but it made him feel better to blame Vile for his misfortunes right now. Vile ruined his chances, and his vacation...and now it sounded like X most likely had more problems to report. </p><p>He stood stewing along the wall of the courtyard, waiting for X, his mood worsening by the minute. Luckily when X showed up he felt a little better just seeing him, but he didn't have the energy to pretend he was alright. He turned to the blue reploid, leaning on the wall.</p><p>"Zero!" X closed the gap between them, breaking into a small run. There were dark circles forming under his eyes, he looked like he hadn't slept at all.</p><p>"Hey. You get any sleep since last night, buddy?" </p><p>X just shook his head, there was clearly something on his mind. He looked around them nervously, "Let's go further back by the landing area first..."</p><p>"Uh, okay." </p><p>He followed X around the corner to the dropoff area for all the vehicles. There was no one there unless there was a major mission, which obviously during a peaceful time like this there wouldn't be. What was so bad that they needed to be alone? X was now wringing his hands and fidgeting. It made Zero uneasy,  "X, what's wrong? You're freaking me out now."</p><p>That only made him more distressed, "I'm sorry! I - I just needed to talk to you alone, I..." he hid his face in his hand, the other hand was noticeably shaking.</p><p>"What happened? I know the kids were alright, but I didn't see anything after that."</p><p>"No no, it's not that." X trailed off, "Actually, there were no casualties. We destroyed our cabin site but there's minimal damage anywhere else."</p><p>"Oh, good." Zero responded blankly, now he was even more nervous, "Tell me what's wrong then. You're a mess right now."</p><p>"I know!!" X exclaimed, surprising the red reploid and making him step back. He seemed to regret the outburst, but he still wasn't looking at Zero, his eyes hidden behind his hand. He waited for him to catch his bearings, but he also knew that with X, sometimes he just had to work the truth out of him. He gently placed a hand on his shoulder, </p><p>"Is this about the trip? Or something else?"</p><p>"K-kind of both? Ugh." X straightened and forced himself to look up at Zero. His eyes were full of fright, but the moment his optics acknowledged it was Zero in front of him he seemed to relax a bit, "I'm sorry. It's just...hard to say." his head fell back into his hands and he heaved a heavy sigh, "Zero...I wanted to tell you...I've wanted to tell you for a long time...but I wasn't going to ever say anything because I never knew if you were okay after everything with Iris and I didn't want to push you but then this weekend you said you were so then I wanted to tell you and finally get it off my chest but you didn't -"</p><p>"Woah, X, slow down." Zero could barely understand him, everything muffled through his hands as he spoke faster and faster. He wanted to bring X's arms down, but he felt like if he touched the blue reploid he would shatter, he was so wound up, "Tell me what now?"</p><p>His arms snapped back to his sides, but his eyes were screwed shut, as if he were in pain, "That I love you, Zero!"</p><p>Oh.</p><p>
  <i>...oh.</i>
</p><p>For a moment Zero thought he was still broken somewhere, but a quick diagnostics run came back clean. He had heard it correctly. From X. He had just heard X say that he loved him.</p><p>It bubbled up inside him, so strongly that he couldn't resist no matter how hard he tried: laughter. A deep laughter from his very core, it came out as a snort, and then a giggle, and then a full blown laugh. He was laughing so hard he put his hands on his knees to brace himself from falling over. It took him a moment to steady himself, and when he looked up poor X looked even more flustered.</p><p>"That...wasn't quite what I was expecting..." his eyes widened, "Zero, are you making fun of me? I'm being serious."</p><p>He looked like he was about to break, with his face aflame and his eyes on the verge of tears. Zero thought he had never seen anything so precious. He seized the shorter reploid in a bear hug, lifting him off the ground.</p><p>"Z-Zero?!"</p><p>Zero forced himself to stop laughing and loosened his hold on X, just enough so he could see his face, "I love you too." the words spilled from his mouth, Zero didn't even need to think about it, "I love you, X."</p><p>X's eyes welled up with tears, his face breaking out into a smile, "Zero..."</p><p>He chuckled again, in spite of everything. They both dipped their heads so their foreheads met, their helmets tapping lightly against each other.</p><p>"Zero..." he whispered again. He melted into Zero's embrace. It felt so natural to him, holding X like this. </p><p>"No...you don't get it, you REALLY don't get it." Zero said. X tilted his head slightly, looking into Zero's eyes, "I wanted to tell you this weekend. I've been trying to. I've been a pathetic mess for weeks now."</p><p>X's eyes sharpened with understanding, he drew a breath, "That's what your secret was...? Oh...that's why you didn't tell me at the park yesterday."</p><p>"I'm sorry." he gave a shy smile, "Axl and Alia kept telling me it had to be a special time and I had to make it romantic and all this other crap."</p><p>"Woah woah-wait, you told AXL??" X stepped back a bit, his amusement overcoming his attempt at shock, "AND Alia knows?!"</p><p>"You sicced him on me! He wouldn't leave me alone!" he said defensively, "That's why I told you not to listen to them last night, I was afraid they would say some more dumb shit."</p><p>"Now it makes sense...why they were acting strange." X's face reddened again, "So everyone knew except for me?" </p><p>"And even with all that help I still messed it up." </p><p>"I..I really had no idea. Maybe it was me who messed up." X chuckled, but then his expression blanked. He was looking ahead but it wasn't at Zero.</p><p>"X...?" he tightened his grip on the Blue Bomber.</p><p>He slowly looked back up, "Zero..." his voice dropped to a whisper, "so when you said you already had a special one...you were talking about me...?"</p><p>"You realized that just now?" </p><p>X gave another soft gasp, and his hands came up to Zero's face, fingers curling around his helmet. Before Zero could say anything else he realized X had brought his mouth to his own in a heated kiss. Zero wrapped his arms around his partner tighter, he suddenly felt as dizzy and unsteady as he had after that slingshot ride. It was a clumsy, awkward kiss, but neither of them cared, instead lost in a deeper connection they had both craved for so long. When they finally parted they were both gasping to cool their systems, but neither could help but laugh, their faces still close enough that their breath mingled as they shared a silent joke over how silly they had both been.</p><p>Maybe this vacation hadn't been bolts after all, Zero decided to himself.</p>
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</div>Axl happily burst through the navigators' center, making Layer jump and Palette let out a yelp. Alia had been expecting it though. She kept at her work on the large screen as Axl threw his hands down on the desk,<p>"Time to pay up, Alia!!" he said triumphantly.</p><p>She didn't stop typing, she was almost finished with her part of the report of the attack on the campground, "Ah ah ah, our bet was that they do it BEFORE we got back to base. They did it here after we got back."</p><p>Alia couldn't help the small grin that tugged at her lips as she watched Axl slam the desk again, "What?! No way!! They did it! That counts!!"</p><p>"Mmm, no, I remember our agreement was it had to be off the base."</p><p>"But that was cause Vile-"</p><p>"-we didn't include any stipulations, it was either they did it before our trip ended or nothing. I saved the audio if you need to hear it."</p><p>Axl sunk down, defeated, "That's not fair!!"</p><p>"I expect payment by next weekend." she patted Axl's head, "Besides, as I heard it wasn't even from him, it was the other way around, that makes you an even bigger loser. I should charge you double."</p><p>"Aghhhh!!" Axl cried, his hands flew to his head, "This is horrible! I lost the bet AND I have to do two weeks of Zero's paperwork?! What kind of lousy vacation was this?!"</p><p>He ran back out of the navigators' station, still screaming on his way out about how he wasn't even getting paid this week. The other two turned to Alia, completely lost,</p><p>"What is he so upset about...who is 'they'?" Palette asked.</p><p>"And what did 'they' do?" Layer added. </p><p>"Oh, it was nothing." Alia said lightly. </p><p>She turned back to her work, laughing to herself. She was looking forward to her next vacation already.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If you read this to the end, thank you so much! I hope you enjoyed it, as dumb and corny as it was.</p><p> </p><p>....I regret nothing. :9</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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